Police: Man Shot Neighbors, Then Himself In Fight Over Dog Poop
YAKIMA, Wash. (WJZ) - Three people are in the hospital after an alleged dispute over dog poop turned into a violent shootout and standoff with police.
The Yakima Police Department in Washington says that 62-year-old Henry Castro shot two of his neighbors after confronting them about their dog allegedly going to the bathroom on his lawn on May 30.
"He hurried up and grabbed my cousin by the neck, and then he pointed the gun towards his neck and he said, 'Now, you're gonna die,'" Carl Stone said, via KIMA. "I was gonna try to do something, and he pointed the gun to me, he said, 'You do anything, I'm gonna shoot you.'"
Castro then allegedly shot Stone's 43-year-old cousin and 19-year-old Shawna Umphrey before retreating back into his home, according to police.
"I just broke down, cried hysterically," Umphrey's mother Marcie said.
The enraged neighbor reportedly barricaded himself inside his Yakima residence for several hours as local police and SWAT units surrounded the neighborhood. "We made several attempts to have him come out. After about an hour and a half, it was decided to call the SWAT team in," said Yakima police spokesman Mike Bastinelli.
When officers broke in, they reportedly found Castro suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The shooter and his two neighbors were all taken to a local hospital for treatment.
It's not known if Umphrey's dog actually went to the bathroom in Castro's yard or if the shooting was a case of mistaken identity gone horribly wrong.
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