Man arguing with wife shoots at tree, nearly hits sleeping neighbor, Florida cops say

A Florida couple’s argument turned dangerous for an entire neighborhood when a man began firing shots at a tree — not all of which hit their target, according to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.

One bullet entered a nearby home and nearly hit a sleeping woman, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

It happened Friday, Aug. 25, at a rural home west of DeFuniak Springs, where deputies responded to calls about gunfire. DeFuniak Springs is in the Panhandle, about 80 miles northeast of Pensacola.

“When deputies arrived, they saw a white male with no shirt standing on the porch with his right arm stretched out holding a firearm. At that moment, the man fired two shots,” the sheriff’s office said. “Deputies got into a tactical position and the individual went inside the residence.”

The 26-year-old emerged again “a short time (later) and was detained.” It was then that deputies learned the gun had been used to threaten neighbors for attempting to intervene in the argument, officials said.

“An investigation found he had in fact fired multiple rounds towards a tree in the front yard,” officials said.

“One of the rounds missed the tree and struck a home across the street. When checking the residence, a bullet was lodged in an interior door feet away from where a woman was sleeping.”

The suspect was arrested and “charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, shooting a missile into an occupied dwelling, using a firearm under the influence of alcohol, and discharging a firearm in public,” officials said.

Bond was set at $5,000 bond, officials said.

This story was originally published August 30, 2023 at 2:36 PM with the headline "Man arguing with wife shoots at tree, nearly hits sleeping neighbor, Florida cops say."