A father-of-two has been brutally beaten and shot dead in front of his young family, after he answered a Facebook advert for a free dog.
Christopher Bowman, 39, known to his nearest and dearest as Scott, was killed on Wednesday night in his home in Jacksonville, Florida, by a man who claimed to be giving away a puppy on the social networking site.
His grieving fiancee, Chelsea Bowman, spoke to Action News JAX about his murder in the footage below:
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The Jacksonville dad was killed during a violent altercation that took place after he responded to the assailant’s offer of a free dog, and the man in question visited his family home.
Chelsea explained how the couple’s young children, a four-year-old boy and an older daughter named Kinley, had wanted a dog, so Scott jumped at the Facebook ad for a puppy free of charge.
The couple initially requested to pick up their new pet from the advertiser’s home but, upon his insistence, the man instead visited the Bowman household, and proceeded to alarm the family when his allegedly drunken behaviour became erratic, threatening and manic.
Scott went to use the bathroom during the assailant’s uncomfortably long stay in the household – which lasted into the evening despite the family’s protests – and when the Florida dad returned, he was attacked by the man, who was carrying a firearm.
A violent altercation occurred, witnessed by the young daughter. As Scott tried to make an escape, he was fatally shot in the chest.
Chelsea told Action News that their children ‘were just terrified and just kept repeating, ‘My dad, there’s blood everywhere’.’
The assailant gave himself up when police responded to the scene and the suspect, as well as Chelsea and her two children, were taken in for questioning.
A spokesperson for the Jacksonville sheriff’s office released a brief statement confirming: ‘The individuals involved with this shooting have been identified by police.’
The investigation is active and ongoing.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.