A man who shot a neighbour dead in his garden for trespassing on his property in order to cut back some tree branches has been seized by police in Florida.
Victim Brian J. Ford, 42, had allegedly crossed onto his neighbour’s land while trimming the borderline trees in Delon Springs, and the owner confronted him.
Angry 78-year-old Edward Stanley Druzolowski told Ford he was trespassing, and ordered him off his property, reports local media.
But when Ford walked towards him, Druzolowski told police he fired the gun and killed him.
He later claimed he’d been scared of his neighbour because he often boasted of his time in jail and winning brutal prison fights.
Druzolowski, now facing a murder charge, confessed in an emergency 911 call: “I was pointing a gun at him trying to get him off my property, and he kept walking to me real close, so I shot him.”
He said he never kept bullets in the first two chambers of the revolver for safety reasons.
Druzolowski added: “First time it just clicked, and he kept walking towards me after he heard the click so I pulled the trigger again.”
The second time, he said, the gun went off.
Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “Druzolowski told detectives he threatened to shoot Ford, and when Ford didn’t leave, he shot him.”
Druzolowski’s wife said that the victim got within arm’s length of her husband, but did not have anything in his hands, nor did he threaten her husband.
Media said the second emergency call was made by Ford’s 77-year-old mother who said: “My neighbour just shot my son! Please, hurry, hurry, hurry!”
She also told them: “Better take [Druzulowski] to jail.”
Police deputies tried emergency life-saving measures until paramedics arrived, but Ford was pronounced dead on the scene.
Becky Ford, who identified herself as the victim’s sister, said that her brother was with his eight-year-old son doing gardening for their mother when he was shot.
She commented on the sheriff’s post on Facebook: “This man shot my brother with my little eight-year-old nephew by his side!
“There is no normal human being on the planet that can shoot a child’s father right in front of the baby! His wife did nothing as she watched him.
“Shoot my brother while he was helping my elderly frail 77-year-old crippled mom with yard work! Yes, you need to get the whole story and picture!
“This man has killed my brother and left his children without a dad, my mom without a son, and me without my only living brother! All this over trees.”
Police said that Druzolowski was instantly taken into custody on a charge of second-degree murder with a firearm.
They added: “He was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail overnight and is being held without bond pending first appearance.”
