A 78-year-old Florida man was arrested after he allegedly shot and killed his neighbor who was trimming trees along the fence between their homes, according to police.
A “fatal shooting between neighbors” occurred in DeLeon Springs on Sunday when Edward Druzolowski “went outside and fired a shot that struck and killed” 42-year-old Brian Ford, according to a statement from the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.
After police received two 911 calls around 7:13 p.m., deputies “attempted to save his life until EMS arrived” before Ford was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the release.
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Man accused of shooting neighbor over property dispute in DeLeon Springs.
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The suspect later told investigators he “confronted” Ford “about being on his property” and “threatened to shoot him,” the statement said, adding “when Ford didn’t leave, he shot him.”
According to Druzolowski’s 911 call reviewed by Law & Crime, he told dispatchers, “I pointed my gun at him trying to get him off my property and he kept walking really close to me so I shot him.”
“First time [I pulled the trigger] it just clicked,” Druzolowski said, according to the release, “and he kept walking toward me after he heard the click so I pulled the trigger again and he hit him.”
According to Law and Crime, another 911 call was made by Ford’s mother, who said, “My neighbor just shot my son…Please hurry, hurry, hurry.”
Ford’s mother, who lives next door, told FOX 35 News Monday that Ford’s son — her grandson — who is 8 years old, “was running around screaming, ‘My dad got hit! My dad got hit!'”
Druzolowski’s wife also called 911, the paper reported.
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According to court documents, Druzolowski said he had not spoken to Ford in years and that they had never had a conflict before, reports ABC News. He added that Ford did not make any violent or deadly threats, admitting that “Brian’s reputation caused fear in him,” the documents said, according to the newspaper. The documents revealed that two knives were discovered near Ford’s body.
Ford’s mother told FOX 35 News that “nobody was bothering anybody. It’s hard to understand why this happened in the first place.”
The Volusia Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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