Tenant-landlord dispute spirals into deadly confrontation
Protracted housing dispute ends with two men dead, including the property owner.
A tenant’s refusal to vacate a Florida residence resulted in a dispute that left two men shot to death and another one injured but in stable condition, authorities said.
The incident occurred Monday at a Plant City, Florida, family business called Bliss Enterprises, where police arrived around 4 p.m. to find owner Richard Bliss dead from a gunshot wound and two other men injured from gunfire, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
One of the other men, William Duncan, died from his injuries at the hospital Monday night, the sheriff’s department said.
Duncan and the other man, whom officials did not name, went to Bliss’ office to speak with him, according to the sheriff’s office.
Bliss Enterprises is comprised of offices, several barns and rental housing property where one of the men had been living after being asked to vacate several times in the past, Col. Donna Lusczynski of the county sheriff’s department told reporters Monday, according to ABC Tampa affiliate WFTS-TV.
The two men had a relative waiting outside the office before hearing shots that officials said Bliss fired at the two men inside, WFTS reported. The relative then reportedly entered the office and shot Bliss.
No criminal charges have been filed, authorities said, and the sheriff’s department is still investigating.
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