My "WTF?" of the day, Florida Man edition...

[Archae]

And this one isn't funny in the least.

I just wonder if there are any details that have been left out of this story.

Florida man, 83, fatally shoots woman searching for her dog

PARRISH, Fla. (AP) — Sheriff’s officials say an 83-year-old Florida man fatally shot a woman after her daughter and brother-in-law knocked on his front door while searching for a missing dog.

Manatee County Sheriff’s officials tell local news outlets Eugene Matthews opened the door about 7 p.m. Tuesday and started firing a handgun. The bullets struck 64-year-old Rebecca Rawson who had stayed in the car parked outside. She was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.

http://wbay.com/ap/florida-man-83-fatally-shoots-woman-searching-for-her-dog/

[MissB]

1. The dog was at his house (nt)

[Aristus]

2. Did you notice that that law-abiding gun-owner was nice and polite?

Just as we all are in the NRA's fabled 'armed society is a polite society' world?

[csziggy]

3. This story has some very telling photos

FOX 13 video from the scene showed the home has a gate out front with several signs with messages like "private property" and "no trespassing," along with a uniformed mannequin on an elevated platform holding what appears to be a rifle.
http://www.fox13news.com/news/local-news/228464134-story

They went to a man’s home to pick up a dog, but were met with bullets
By Sara Nealeigh
Parrish

An 83-year-old man faces a second-degree murder charge after allegedly shooting and killing a woman Tuesday night.

Rebecca Rawson, 65, along with a 26-year-old woman and a 62-year-old man went to a home in the 12900 block of Pritchart Road in Parrish shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday to pick up a dog, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

The 62-year-old man knocked on the front door and was greeted by Eugene F. Matthews, 83, who started firing at him with a handgun, according to a release.

At some point, Matthews started firing toward the vehicle with Rawson inside. A bullet went through the windshield and struck Rawson. She was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead, the release stated.
http://www.bradenton.com/news/local/crime/article125800024.html

This comment below the story is interesting:

Bt Vogel
This story is missing some information, This was nothing like an home invasion, No one entered the home to retrieve the dog that belonged to her husband that died last week. The woman killed was trying to get the family dog back and had spoken with the people in the house. Why would you start shooting into a car that was leaving?

[Archae]

6. I just noticed two more things...

That isn't a "raised platform," it's a guard tower replica and the guy has three flags on his pole, the US flag, unknown flag, and the confederate flag.

The guy is a kook.

[csziggy]

7. Yes - I thought about putting in a description but the photos speak for themselves

Also, at first I thought there might be justification since the people in the car did go through a posted gate. But the story and the comment seem to indicate that they were picking up the dog after previous communication - although that is not spelled out.

[Bettie]

4. He'll say "I was scared"

and get off. Remember, murder is legal in Florida if you say you were scared.

[Baitball Blogger]

5. The exact opposite would happen in my community.

If Florida Man loses a pet in my community, lock your door and get ready to call 911. I'm not making this up. Two nights ago someone in my community apparently lost a pet late at night. I assume it was a dog because cats are more independent and can take care of themselves. We were in bed when we heard someone calling for the animal. I have no idea when the dog got away from him because the television was on up to the bedtime hour.

I know how miserable it must be to lose a pet so we just put up with the incessant whistling and calling out by name, though I never did get a clear understanding of the pet's name. I thought that would be that, but the noise escalated to the point that we could no longer keep our dogs quiet so we could sleep. And then it got worse.

The guy owns this large SUV, and he drove it on the golf course and swung it around so he could flood our backyards with the car's high beams. Well, that did it. My dogs were incensed and they went into full throttle. No one was going to bed early that night.

The SUV didn't do it just once. He gave the golf course another sweep with his car, aiming his lights at our backyards, and of course, porches and windows.

Now, I stayed awake for at least an hour after he left, which meant that I didn't even start to nod off until after two in the morning. And the reason I stayed awake was because I figured that someone who has the chutzpah to take such extreme action, with the outrageous shouting and car panning, might do something that really increases the threat level.

In the am I checked the security cameras and nothing triggered the motion detectors, except the SUV. So he and she wasted their time checking this side of the golf course.

BTW, scanning through the cams I did spot a tiger cat that someone may have lost a few weeks ago, based on a LOST poster. It had a white patch on his chest. No collar. But, I think we have ferals in the area, so it's hard to say.