A 78-year-old Florida man has been arrested after authorites said he shot and killed his neighbor for trimming trees over their shared property line.
Edward Druzolowski, from DeLeon Springs, was booked into the Volusia County Jail Sunday night on a charge of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of 42-year-old Brian Ford.
Ford was trimming tree limbs along the fence line between 1880 and 1890 Alameda Drive when Druzolowski confronted him about being on his property, the sheriff’s office said.
“Druzolowski told detectives he threatened to shoot Ford, and when Ford didn’t leave, he shot him,” officials stated.
Deputies who responded to the scene of the shooting after receiving two 911 calls after 7 p.m. Sunday tried to revive Ford, before paramedics arrived and took over the lifesaving efforts.
The victim could not be saved and died on the spot, the sheriff’s office reported.
Druzolowski was being held without bond pending his initial court appearance set for Monday afternoon.
A charge of second-degree murder in Florida is punishable by a minimum of 16 and a half years and a maximum of life in prison.
It is unclear if Druzolowski would invoke Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, which justifies the use of lethal force in self-defense.