MOUNT DORA, Fla. - A missing-person investigation led Lake County sheriff’s deputies to discover a person who had been shot and killed inside a vehicle early Wednesday evening.
While on scene, deputies also discovered a neighbor inside their home, dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.
Neighbor dispute turns deadly: Deputies
The backstory:
Deputies responded about 5:38 p.m. to a home near Bay Road in Mount Dora after a caller reported being unable to reach or locate the victim, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
When deputies arrived, they found what appeared to be a bullet hole in the passenger-side window of the victim’s vehicle and blood inside. During a search of the vehicle, deputies found the victim dead beneath a blanket in the rear hatchback area, authorities said.
Detectives with the sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Bureau, crime scene investigators and the agency’s aviation unit responded to assist.
Investigators canvassed the area and interviewed the victim’s relatives and neighbors. They learned the victim had been involved in an ongoing property-line dispute with a next-door neighbor, authorities said.
Investigators identified the neighbor as a suspect and saw his vehicle in the driveway of his home. Deputies attempted to contact him but received no response and later obtained a warrant to search the house.
With the assistance of the sheriff’s office SWAT team, deputies entered the home and found the suspect dead from what authorities described as a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The investigation remains active. Authorities said additional information will be released as it becomes available.
The Source: This story was written based on information shared by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.