Domestic shooting investigation leaves Bell residents with many questions

BELL, Fla. (WCJB) - Residents of Bell are reacting to a shooting that happened in broad daylight. On Friday around 2 p.m. gunshots rang out on NW 52nd street.

“We heard two quick rapid gunshots,” said Michael Kern, who lives next to the home where the shooting happened. “We looked out our back windows and we could see people running. We could see a child running across the field screaming.”

Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Deputies said a woman is suspected of shooting a man in a domestic incident.

“I thought it was a hunting situation, somebody poaching a deer or something, but the gunshot was very close to our house,” said Kern.

He said he believes a custody battle prompted the woman to shoot her child’s father.

“I’m hoping that he’s going to survive this come out of this okay, and I’m hoping he gets some justice,” said Kern.

However, TV 20 spoke to other neighbors who said they believe the woman was confronting her child’s father about possible abuse.

“He goes to do his normal thing of grabbing her by the throat and I think he did and bringing her down which he usually does... and mom has a pistol in her jacket and shoots him,” said Kent DuBuose, neighbor.

DuBuose said “this is the story I got from various people involved.”

DuBuose is a retired law enforcement officer who said he believes this is not a case of a mother angry over custody issues.

“What I saw would instantly get her released. That was self defense,” he said. “You don’t have to take a beating off a man every time you see him and then have to convince people every time that he did something.”

TV 20 spoke with several residents who said they wish sheriff’s officials would be more transparent about this incident, but a GCSO spokesperson said this is currently an ongoing investigation.

Deputies said the man who was shot is expected to recover.

No one has been arrested at this time in connection to this shooting.

Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

Copyright 2022 WCJB. All rights reserved.