LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Authorities in central Florida say a city commissioner fatally shot a customer during a dispute over a hatchet inside the Army Navy surplus store he co-owns.
The shooting happened Wednesday afternoon at the Vets Army Navy Surplus Store in Lakeland. Police spokesman Gary Gross said in an email that officers found 50-year-old Cristobal Lopez lying face-up just outside the door. He died at the scene.
Gross said witnesses told investigators Lopez entered the store with his father. While the older man was making a purchase, Commissioner Michael Dunn saw Lopez trying to steal a hatchet. Dunn asked if he was going to pay the item, a confrontation ensued and Dunn fired a gun, striking Lopez.
A criminal investigation is underway.
Dunn took office on the Lakeland City Commission in January.
