Woman fatally shoots army veteran over parking spot argument
A 62-year-old US Army veteran was fatally shot after what appeared to be an argument over a parking space.
Retired Staff Sergeant Bart Diguglielmo was fatally shot outside of a Walmart in North Lauderdale, Florida, on 30 June, later dying from his injuries.
According to a report from Broward Sheriff’s Office, Diguglielmo appeared to have been in an argument with an unidentified woman before the shots were fired.
The altercation was captured on camera by witnesses, showing what appeared to be the pair arguing while the woman was holding a gun. At one point, Diguglielmo follows the woman around a car and proceeds to step towards her, causing her to fire the weapon at him.
Advert
Diguglielmo then falls to the ground. He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he later died of his injuries.
Police confirmed the pair had been arguing over a parking space.
The woman, who claims she acted in self-defence, is understood to have remained at the scene after shooting Diguglielmo and is currently co-operating with law enforcement.
One man who saw the incident unfold told CBS News Miami that he'd witnessed the woman 'screaming'.
"I was walking up and heard a lady screaming," he said. "She was screaming and she was saying a lot of things."
Bart's daughter Amanda has since spoken out about the grief of losing her father in an interview, telling Local 10 that nobody deserved to lose their life over a car parking space.
"He was a good man," Amanda, who'd been working on repairing the relationship with her father at the time of his death, said before breaking down in tears.
Amanda also disputed claims that her father was 'making some type of advance towards the woman', saying: "My dad is not that person. He’s not perfect, but not someone that would do this to this extreme.
Paying tribute to her father, Amanda added that he was a father of three and previously worked as a trauma nurse alongside his career in the military.
"I just don’t think anybody deserved to lose their life over a parking spot," she added.
Meanwhile, Bart's sister, who did not provide her full name, spoke to CBS about the incident, saying she was completely devastated by the loss of her brother.
"He was a Christian man and a very good person and would not hurt anyone," she said.
A report from local outlet ABC 7 adds that the case will now be passed to the State’s Attorney’s office for review, which will determine whether or not criminal charges will be filed against the woman.
Topics: US News
Brenna Cooper