An Alachua County man was fatally shot by his neighbor Monday afternoon after he confronted him about spraying herbicide on an easement in front of their houses, according to the Alachua County Sheriff's Office.
The sheriff's office received a call about a disturbance on the 5400 block of Northwest 69th Drive at 4:34 p.m. Monday, said Sgt. Becky Butscher, sheriff's office spokeswoman.
The victim was Michael Joseph Carreiro, 47, of 5725 NW 69th Drive. Officers have named Randall Jeffrey Smith, 54, of 5425 NW 69th Drive, a suspect.
According to an Alachua County Sheriff's Office report, Smith was spraying herbicide on poison ivy that was growing along the edge of the drive of his residence, where he had lived next door to Carreiro for 10 years.
Carreiro had reportedly voiced his displeasure multiple times at Smith's efforts to maintain the easement along Northwest 69th Drive. Smith later told investigators that Carreiro had made violent threats toward him in the past, but no physical violence had previously happened.
Smith sought protection from Carreiro in August by filing an injunction for protection, but it was denied the same day, according to Alachua County records.
After speaking with Carreiro's probation officer last fall, Smith hadn't heard from Carreiro until Monday afternoon, when he heard a vehicle coming down the road at approximately 4:34 p.m. and recognized his neighbor's truck.
Smith turned from the road and began walking back to his house when he heard the truck door open. He turned to see Carreiro walking briskly towards him, so he put down his herbicide sprayer and walked towards Carreiro with his hands up.
Carreiro yelled expletives at Smith while continuing to advance, according to the report.
Smith stopped walking while Carreiro continued to threaten him, telling Smith that he was going to kill him and his family. Smith put his hands behind his back and began to remove his gun from its holster.
According to Smith, Carreiro taunted him when he saw the weapon, saying that he "wouldn't use the gun."
Smith began shooting rapidly while moving towards Carreiro from about 20 feet away, with 12 shots fired in a matter of seconds. Carreiro fell facedown on the ground with his arms tucked underneath him, according to the report.
Smith paused several seconds before walking closer to Carreiro. Then, he fired two more bullets into Carreiro's unmoving body. The entire altercation lasted one minute.
Smith called 911 and told police he had just shot someone. When deputies arrived at the scene three minutes later, he was still on the phone with dispatch and followed instructions to drop his gun.
Despite the efforts of the emergency responders, Carreiro was announced dead at 4:51, 17 minutes after the first shot was fired.
Smith was booked into the Alachua County Jail around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, where he remains in lieu of a $1 million bond, under charges of first-degree homicide.