A man originally hailing from New Jersey, who once served in the US Army, was tragically shot and killed by a woman during a dispute over a parking space outside a Walmart in Florida.
The victim, Bart Diguglielmo, who had retired from the US Army as a Staff Sergeant, was shot by an unidentified woman just outside the North Lauderdale Walmart on Tuesday shortly before 12:30 p.m., according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities reported that a “verbal altercation” over a parking spot between the 62-year-old Diguglielmo and the woman escalated into the fatal encounter.
The shooter, a female whose identity has not yet been disclosed, told police that she fired the shot in self-defense.
Eyewitnesses recounted that the woman became hysterical as officers began investigating the shooting incident.
“I was walking up and heard a lady screaming,” David Anderson told CBS News Miami. “She was screaming and she was saying a lot of things.”
Video shared on social media captured the alleged dispute, as a woman wearing a white shirt stepped out of her car with a gun in her hand, talking back to a man, believed to be Diguglielmo, wearing a gray shirt, who had walked up on her.
The two shoppers repeatedly pointed at each other during the argument and, at one point, the man put both his arms in the air as they stood in an empty parking space, according to video obtained by WPLG.
Diguglielmo appears to follow the woman around another car as she aims the gun at him before a single gunshot rings out and he collapses to the ground.
The gunshot victim was transported to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Diguglielmo’s sister described her brother as a decorated veteran during Operation Desert Storm, according to CBS News Miami.
A native of Hammonton, New Jersey, Diguglielmo served as a combat nurse, combat medic and tactical communications expert, according to his Facebook profile.
“He was a Christian man and a very good person and would not hurt anyone,” the sibling, whose name was not revealed, said.
Diguglielmo, who lived in Lauderhill, Florida, was also a retired nurse, his sister said.
Officials have withheld the name of the woman.
The Broward County State Attorney’s Office will determine if she will be charged following the police investigation.