PANAMA CITY — Prosecutors and law enforcement continue to investigate a fatal shooting between neighbors to determine whether charges will be appropriate, according to Bay County Sheriff’s Officials.
So far, 45-year-old Gerald Douglas Carter has not been charged with any crime after allegedly shooting at his neighbor three times Friday night with a 1911 .45-caliber handgun, BCSO officials said.
Carter declined to comment Monday for this story.
According to BCSO reports, Carter called law enforcement to his Sterling Cove Boulevard home at about 11 p.m. to report he’d shot his neighbor, 32-year-old William Brodie Grooms. The shooting began after Grooms ran onto Carter’s property and the two men became involved in a physical altercation, BCSO reported.
Carter also reported his neighbor appeared intoxicated, according to BCSO reports.
Moments earlier, Grooms and his fiancée, 32-year-old Ashlyn K. Holt, were arguing in their adjacent home. The situation calmed, and Holt left the house to walk her dog, she told officers.
Holt told investigators that while she was outside, Carter was sitting on his front porch reading a book. She sat with Carter, but after about 10 minutes Grooms came out of their house and began yelling obscenities and allegations of infidelity at Holt, she told the officers.
Grooms previously warned her not to go over to Carter’s house, Holt said.
Grooms went over to Carter’s house and stood in the driveway for a period of time before grabbing Holt’s arm and twisting it, BCSO reported. She then broke free and walked back toward Carter’s house before Grooms approached Carter’s home again, she said.
Holt attempted to push her fiancée away before he allegedly started to run after Carter, and the two men became involved in a physical altercation. A short time later, Carter produced the handgun and began firing, Holt told investigators.
Neighboring witnesses reported hearing three gunshots ring out in the gated neighborhood. When officers arrived, Grooms lay in the grass beside Carter’s driveway with two visible gunshot wounds to the chest, BCSO reported. He would later be pronounced dead from the injuries.
Officers handcuffed Carter and read him his Miranda rights. However, he has not been charged in connection with the shooting.