A social media fight over politics left a 46-year-old Florida man injured and a remorseful 44-year-old man facing felony charges.
The younger man stands accused of felony charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and carrying a concealed firearm after police said he shot the older man – a stranger – over a Facebook post about politics that became personal.
The man was shot in the buttocks and thigh. He was treated at a Tampa, Florida, hospital and released.
The alleged shooter was charged with felony charges of carrying a concealed firearm as well as aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He was arrested and posted a $9,500 bond at the Hillsborough County Jail.
The Facebook altercation started when the younger man made a politically related comment on a friend’s post. The man told the Tampa Bay Times that he was responding to a felon who had written on the site that “even though he lost the right to vote, he wanted to share his political opinion.”
The man who was shot indeed has a felony record and served time in state prison. The man facing the felony charges said the other man knew his address and threatened to harm his family.
Instead, the younger man turned the tables and went to the older man’s house with firearms.
“I just snapped and let primal rage take over,” the man told the newspaper. “I’m not a bad guy, but I mean, this guy threatened to hurt my family, and I went off the deep end. I wasn’t thinking right. You know, after this I’m going to go see a therapist or something, man, because that’s some scary s—, that I could lose my temper like that and do something so stupid.”
He said his actions have harmed his family.
“I ruined my life over this,” Sebring said. “Now my mother is too afraid to leave the house, my sons are afraid to walk to school or church, all because of some keyboard gangsters.”
The man said he confessed to officers.
This man knows he made a mistake. Now, he should work with a qualified Florida attorney to learn about the many options for his defense.