A 37-year-old man was shot and killed inside a Fort Pierce mobile home Wednesday night after he allegedly forced his way inside and punched the 22-year-old homeowner repeatedly in the stomach during a dispute between the two men, according to deputies. The homeowner has not been charged, and St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office investigators say the case is now being reviewed under Florida’s self-defense laws.
According to CBS12, the two men knew each other and had been involved in a dispute that included verbal arguments and threatening text messages before the confrontation. Deputies and St. Lucie County Fire District crews responded to Seminole Mobile Home Park, in the 3300 block of Orange Avenue, around 9 p.m. Wednesday, according to the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, which logged the call at 9:11 p.m.
Investigators say the suspect knocked on the home’s front door and the homeowner let him inside. Once inside, the suspect allegedly pushed the homeowner and then punched him several times in the stomach during what deputies described as a brawl. The homeowner pulled out a 9mm handgun and shot the suspect once in the chest at close range, per Sheriff Richard R. Del Toro Jr. The suspect was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Girlfriend and Sister Were Home During the Attack
The homeowner’s girlfriend and sister were inside the home at the time and provided statements to investigators that corroborated his account of the confrontation, according to detectives. The homeowner remained at the scene and cooperated fully with investigators. Crime scene investigators finished processing the residence and cleared it at 6:11 a.m. Thursday, after obtaining a search warrant and recovering the handgun…