EVANSTON — An Evanston man was recently arrested and charged with felony aggravated assault and battery along with misdemeanor domestic assault.

In the early morning hours of Saturday, April 6, Evanston police officers responded to a residence on Simpson Avenue after receiving a report of “shots fired and a domestic in progress between a male and a female,” according to an affidavit filed in support of arrest.

Once on the scene, officers secured 51-year-old Bret Carrell while they inspected the home for potential victims.

During an initial interview, Carrell allegedly admitted to officers that he fired a .380 caliber into a wall in defense of an armed visitor in his home. Carrell said that his guest came down the stairs with an AR-15 airsoft rifle. Officers discovered a bullet casing near Carrell’s firearm, which also had blood on it.

Carrell’s guest, who was there with his wife, allegedly told officers that he went downstairs with the airsoft gun because Carrell’s live-in girlfriend requested him to.

According to the affidavit, “Carrell was intoxicated and had been yelling and throwing things … saying vulgar and hurtful things toward everyone in the house.”

When asked to stop, Carrell replied, “Oh, you have guns? Well, I have guns, too,” before retreating to his room, court documents state. As the guest proceeded back up the stairs, he “heard a pop, which he thought was a dry fire from a gun.”

Just prior to the shooting, Carrell had been arguing with his girlfriend, according to the affidavit, and “taking punches at her, but missing because he was intoxicated... [but] he has hurt her in the past.”

Court documents state that after being confronted by Carrell in an upstairs bathroom, the girlfriend pushed him out of the way before she fell in the hallway, hitting her head on a door jamb. She told officers that she has several scratches and bruises on her body from the skirmish.

Carrell claimed that the woman was the aggressor and that she punched him in the face, but officers said they did not find evidence consistent with that statement.

The guest, his spouse and the live-in girlfriend left the residence after Carrell shot at the wall, the affidavit states.

If convicted, Carrell faces up to ten years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine for the felony charge, and up to six months and/or a $750 fine for the misdemeanor.