A Florida grandfather was shot dead on Thanksgiving Day after an altercation with a neighbor who had complained about the loudness of the 72-year-old victim’s music.
The shooting occurred around 3:30 p.m. at a Broward County apartment complex located about 30 miles north of Miami. Hureleyon McLean had gone to the neighbor’s apartment downstairs to discuss his complaint.
The neighbor acknowledged shooting McLean but told police he acted in self-defense. He has not been charged with any crimes, but the investigation continues.
Rose McLean, the victim’s wife, said she heard gunshots shortly after her husband had walked to the apartment directly beneath theirs.
“I heard it, and I just flew to the door,” Rose McLean told WSVN-TV. “When I look out, my husband was laying face down in the blood.”
The neighbor showed no remorse for the shooting in the head, she said.
“He wasn’t sorry. He was just standing, looking at me with his gun in his hand the same way,” Rose McLean said. “And I go up to him and say, ‘Why did you shoot my husband? Why?’ And he said to me, ‘If I didn’t shut my mouth, he would shoot me, too.’”
Paramedics were unable to revive her husband, who had been celebrating the holiday with his family. McLean, who drove for a private bus line, was the father of two sons and a grandfather.
“Anywhere he is, I’m always with him,” his wife said. “We’re like a team together. For him to be taken away like this, trust me, it’s very hard.
Police said McLean and the neighbor had gotten into a fight before the shooting. The unidentified neighbor “cooperated with detectives” and told detectives during an interview that he acted in “self-defense,” police said.
Rose McLean strongly disputed the neighbor’s claim.
“My husband didn’t have any weapons, my husband didn’t even have a knife on him,” Rose McLean said.
The victim’s friends staged a prayer circle with his family outside the apartment, where the shooter remained.
“It’s crazy how mankind has gotten to a place where we don’t honor life like we should honor,” said McLean’s pastor, Tracy McCloud. “Who would have thought something tragic like this would happen?”
Once the investigation is complete, the Broward County State Attorney’s Office will determine whether charges should be filed.
