FORT MEADE, Fla. -- One man is dead and two others are shot following an argument about a dog in Fort Meade on Monday night.
- Deputies say shooter is Charles Peddeycoart
- Sheriff said that the argument was about a dog
- RELATED: Deputies: 1 dead, 2 injured in Fort Meade triple shooting
The shooting happened in the 400 block of 3rd Street SW at 6:45 p.m., according to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, who said that three people came to the home. One of them knocked on the door and there was an argument with the man who came to the door on the front porch.
"They knocked on the door and an argument ensued over a dog. Subsequent to the argument, there were gunshots and three people were shot," explained Judd.
Investigators have since learned that Peddeycoart and his girlfriend had earlier in the day walked to a nearby store and a pit bull began following them. They tried shooing the dog away to no avail, but when they came out of the store, the dog was gone, and they went home.
Peddeycoart's girlfriend told detectives she was approached by Calvin Johnson, 30, as the couple arrived back at their house. He asked her if she had seen a couple walking with a dog, to which she replied "no," but as she walked inside she realized Johnson may have been asking about her and Peddeycoart.
She then walked down the road, caught up with Johnson, and told him about the dog following them. That's when Johnson reportedly became irate because she didn't return his dog. She insisted she didn't know who owned the dog, which had no tags or collar.
Situation escalates
Johnson then sped away in his car, according to detectives, and Peddeycoart's girlfriend returned to the house. A short time later, Johnson reportedly returned to Peddeycoart's house, along with Edward Burgess, 18, and Teconsa "Tyree" McDonald, 30.
Johnson knocked on the door, and when Peddeycoart and his girlfriend came out on the front porch, he reportedly began yelling at them, accusing them of stealing his dog. According to the accounts given by Peddeycoart and his girlfriend, they denied stealing the dog, and when Johnson started threatening them, Peddeycoart asked them to leave and informed them he had a gun.
Johnson reportedly said he didn't care, and continued to threaten the couple. At that point Peddeycoart fired at the men on the porch.
McDonald was killed, while Johnson and Burgess were critically injured.
Friend of victims: "They just wanted their dog back"
Witnesses told detectives that Johnson could be heard yelling at the couple about the missing dog, accusing them of theft.
Resident Demetrus Beckford told us he saw Johnson, McDonald and Burgess before the shooting, and confirmed they were looking for their missing pit bull puppy. The men thought a security camera at their house showed who took the dog.
"They pulled up and asked me did I see two people walking with their dog," Beckford explained. "No, and then they just pulled off."
Another friend of the victims, Donovan Beckford, wondered how searching for a missing dog escalated into three men being shot.
"Crazy," Donovan said. "I think it could have been handled a whole lot better than that right there."
Peddeycoart and his girlfriend told detectives they had never had any previous interactions with any of the men.
Officials said there are more witnesses left to interview in the case and more information left to gather. No charges have been filed yet against Peddeycoart.