Ohio man Austin Gene Combs recently shot and killed his neighbor, Anthony Lee King, “because he thought he was a Democrat.”
According to Journal-News, King’s family said Combs fatally shot the man because he believed the victim was a Democrat. The shooting reportedly occurred in Okeana on Nov. 8, as investigators discovered King dead from several gunshot wounds that day.
“My neighbor just shot my dad. [He] has come over multiple times making statements. He’s insane,” the victim’s son told 911 dispatchers.
During his call, reports said the mother was heard crying in the background and told dispatchers that the victim had been cutting the grass and doing yard work before being killed. When she went inside to let their dog out, she recalled, she heard gunshots.
“I look in the backyard, and that man is walking away from my husband, and my husband is on the ground,” the horrified woman said during the 911 call. She reportedly found King unresponsive and bleeding in their backyard. “He has come over like four times confronting my husband because he thought he was a Democrat. Why, why…Please, I don’t understand.”
The family also told the dispatcher that Combs had previously confronted his neighbor about perceived political affiliation to Democrats.
Moments later, the alleged shooter was arrested while driving away from the scene with his father. He was then taken into custody via Jeep by Butler County sheriff deputies at Ohio 126 West of Chapel Road. Both of them were in the vehicle.
As of now, Combs’ bond is set at $950,000 on suspicion of murder.
Crime in Ohio has been making local headlines lately, as two tragic deaths have occurred in the Midwestern state. Recently, a woman celebrating her birthday, Nishelle Harris-Miles, was killed in a freak accident during an all-girls birthday trip to Florida.
