PORT ST. JOHN, Fla. – Brevard County sheriff’s investigators continue to investigate the circumstances leading up to the death of a 32-year-old Port St. John man shot with an airsoft rifle, News 6 partner Florida Today reports.
A woman was questioned but no arrests have been made in the case. Autopsy information could also assist investigators in outlining the moments leading up to the shooting.
The incident in the central Brevard community happened about 10:05 p.m. Thursday at a home in the 700 block of Lindsay Avenue. Authorities said two people were involved, including the unidentified Port St. John man, when his girlfriend used the .22-caliber air rifle to shoot him. Air rifles typically shoot plastic pellets and are used in recreational sports.
Brevard County Sheriff's Office spokesman Tod Goodyear said pellet gun wounds can be fatal depending on where the victim is shot.
"It's a matter of what it strikes," Goodyear said. "Does it strike a vital organ?"
The Port St. John man was airlifted to an unnamed hospital where he was pronounced dead by doctors. Typically, shooting victims are transported to Holmes Regional Medical Center where trauma center physicians respond to such incidents.
The shooting death is the eighth reported homicide for the year.
The Sheriff's Office did not release the name of the homicide victim.
"We are still finishing up some interviews and some other evidence collection they wanted to do and then at that point, a determination will be made whether any charges will be filed," Goodyear said.
The Sheriff's Office did not say where the man was shot, but investigators said it's believed he was shot just once.
Neighbors like Glenn Butler said they heard the couple fighting all the time.
The Sheriff's Office confirmed deputies were called to the house multiple times before.
"I wouldn't really think that would [kill a person] but I know them air rifles are very powerful," Butler said.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that investigators say the man's girlfriend shot him.