Fight over dog leads to shootout between neighbors in Florida front yard, cops say
An argument between Florida neighbors escalated until one shot at the other, sparking a shootout in the front yard, deputies said.
One, Charles Wade Huffman, 59, now faces an attempted murder charge, authorities said.
Huffman gave his dog, Marshall, to one of his neighbors in a Geneva neighborhood, according to a Seminole County Sheriff’s Office arrest report obtained by McClatchy News.
In the following three weeks, there were “ongoing issues regarding the dog,” deputies said, causing a rift between the neighbors.
On Oct. 27, the neighbor who now had the dog woke up from a nap and noticed that her power had gone out, according to the report.
She went outside and saw her external breaker had been flipped by Huffman, deputies said.
She turned the power back on and went inside, then noticed Huffman’s other dog ran in front of her house as her power went off again, according to the report.
Suspecting Huffman was outside, she grabbed a pistol and stepped out onto her porch, deputies said.
Standing in her front yard was Huffman with a gun pointed at her, according to the report.
She told Huffman he had to leave, but instead he fired a shot, deputies said.
The bullet “grazed” the neighbor on her neck on her left side, according to the report, then went through her front window.
The neighbor ran back inside, firing a shot back at Huffman as she retreated, deputies said.
Huffman fired again, this time hitting the front door, according to the report.
The neighbor called 911 and Huffman went back to his property, deputies said.
“Charles Huffman went onto (his neighbor’s) property armed with a firearm and turned the power off to her residence which would make her leave the security of her home to turn the power back,” deputies said in the report.
Huffman was taken into custody on charges of attempted murder, property damage, and firing into a dwelling, according to the report.
Geneva is about 25 miles northeast of Orlando.
This story was originally published October 31, 2023 at 9:02 AM with the headline "Fight over dog leads to shootout between neighbors in Florida front yard, cops say."
