[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
A 78-year-old Florida man has been accused of killing his neighbor in a confounding property dispute.
On Sunday evening, 42-year-old Brian Ford was trimming trees along his property line in the small Volusia County town of DeLeon Springs when his neighbor Edward Druzolowski (pictured above, in his mugshot) came outside to confront him.
According to media reports, Druzolowski “fired a shot that struck and killed” Ford, who had not previously been in an argument with the older man and had apparently been minding his own business simply trimming back trees. Paramedics and police rushed to the scene to save Ford, but sadly, he was pronounced dead from the gunshot wound.
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Per ClickOrlando and others, Druzolowski told cops he “confronted” Ford about being “on his property.” In that alleged confrontation, the older man “threatened to shoot him,” and when Ford didn’t stop trimming trees, cops say the man indeed fired a shot. Is it… Is it possible the guy was running the tree trimmer and didn’t hear him??
According to Law & Crime, Druzolowski himself called 911 after the incident, too. During the call, the septuagenarian said to dispatchers:
“First time [I pulled the trigger] it just clicked, and he kept walking toward me after he heard the click so I pulled the trigger again and it shot him.”
“It shot him.” No, sir. YOU shot him.
FOX 35 News spoke to Brian Ford’s mother after the shooting. She shared a heartbreaking detail about her son’s death: that her grandson — Brian’s 8-year-old son — apparently witnessed the aftermath:
“[The child] was running around screaming, ‘My daddy’s shot! My daddy’s shot!’”
OMG…
Now Volusia County cops are trying to figure out why the incident happened in the first place. Per court docs filed by the sheriff’s office, Druzolowski told officers he “hadn’t spoken with Ford in years” and they “never had conflicts before.” Per ABC News, the accused killer also cryptically said Brian’s “reputation caused him fear,” though it’s not clear what that meant. Court docs note at least two knives were found by cops near Ford’s body on the ground after the shooting — which, yeah, he was trimming trees.
Ford’s mother lamented her son’s death in comments to FOX 35 News:
“Nobody bothered anybody. It’s hard to understand why this even happened.”
Here’s more on the tragedy (below):
Such a sickening and senseless act. And for what?! Just awful.
We send our condolences to Ford’s family, friends, and loved ones…
To learn more about the impact of gun violence, visit
[Image via Volusia County Sheriff’s Office/News 6 ClickOrlando/YouTube]
