Florida man , 82, shoots dead neighbor and his 11-year-old daughter after they testified his dog was dangerous
PORT ST LUCIE, FLORIDA: A dog owner was accused of shooting dead an 11-year-old girl and her father after the victims testified against his pet and a court hearing declared it dangerous.
In the incident which took place on Monday, July 6, Guy Alexander Hansman, 55, and his daughter, Harper Hansman, 11, were shot and killed by Ronald Delserro, 82, who was identified as their neighbor. Apparently, the dispute began over Delserro's bull mastiff named Roxy, who had reportedly bit a woman who lived at the Hansman home on March 4, according to Port St Lucie Police Department.
After a judge declared the dog dangerous, which came with a $505 fine, Delserro came home, armed himself with two handguns, went to his neighbors' house and opened fire. At the time, there were six people in the house. "They all came home from court and then the suspect armed himself and went to the victim's house," St Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara said at a news conference.
The 11-year-old victim was the one who made the 911 call before she herself was shot. "If you heard this call come over the radio, it would make the hair on your neck stand," Mascara said. "A little girl calls in saying: 'there's someone shooting in our house. I think our parents are dead. I think our family is dead.'"
Law enforcement officers found Harper critically wounded and attempted to pull her to safety as they began exchanging gunfire with the shooter but she later died of her injuries at a hospital. Her father was found dead in the garage. A SWAT team later discovered Delserro dead inside the house, according to police. It's unclear how he died. "I believe this to be an intentional act of violence against these neighbors," said Port St Lucie Assistant Police Chief Richard DelToro. "It's tragic. You can't rationalize irrational behavior." A contractor told WPTV he saw the shooter's wife just moments after the shots rang out. "She said, I hope he didn’t do something stupid," Ray Layfield said.
As investigators continued to process the scene of the crime on Tuesday, July 7, 24 hours after the shooting took place, Port St Lucie Animal Control arrived and officers appeared to take an animal away from the community. Roxy was taken to a veterinary clinic and humanely euthanized.
During the confrontation, one officer was struck in the arm and was briefly hospitalized before being released. Several officers involved in the standoff have been placed on paid administrative leave, pending the conclusion of the investigation.
Guy Hansman’s sister-in-law, Julie Hansman, said that she could not believe that two members of her family were killed so tragically over a dog. “This monster took everything away from them and from us,” she told Palm Beach Post. “We can’t believe that such a thing could happen over an animal. I do not understand what was in this man’s mind or in his heart if he had a heart. How do you shoot a child? How do you kill a baby? The family will never recover from this. They’ll never be over this.”