Man Says He Was Threatened by Gun-Wielding Relative Before Shooting Him Multiple Times in Self-Defense

LITHIA, FLORIDA – Two adult male relatives were involved in an incident which left one of them dead. Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 6:56 p.m. 911 call in the 15000 block of Starling Water Drive, located in the FishHawk Ridge housing subdivision.

The caller stated to dispatchers that a male relative had threatened him with a gun. He added that he was in fear for his life and armed himself before shooting the relative several times. Deputies arrived to find one man, assumed to be the threatening relative, dead from apparent gunshot wounds.

Authorities have not said what may have led to the alleged threats made by the deceased, or how many, if any other people were in the residence at the time of the incident. It is also not known if the man who was threatened was a resident of the home where the incident occurred. The caller, a man in his twenties, was cooperating with investigators and they continued to collect evidence and interview witnesses. Neither man was identified, no arrests have been made, and no further details have been released.

Florida is one of many, many states with Stand Your Ground laws, which allow for a person who is in fear for their life to use deadly force in self-defense, with no duty to retreat to avoid the perceived threat.