Texas man fatally shoots neighbor after dispute over loose dog, continues doing yardwork: deputies

LIBERTY COUNTY, Texas - A 70-year-old Texas man shot his neighbor dead on Friday during an ongoing dispute about a dog running loose in the neighborhood and then kept on doing yard work, authorities said.

Eric Lee Elliott was working in his yard on County Road 2683 around 2:45 p.m. when a dog belonging to his neighbor, 60-year-old William Duncan Womack, got loose and ran into the yard, KHOU-TV reported, citing the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office.

Elliot saw Womack’s stepdaughter and demanded that she keep the dog out of his yard or else he’d kill it, deputies said.

The stepdaughter told Womack about the threat, according to investigators, and he went to speak with Elliott out in the street. When the two men met, Elliott allegedly kicked Womack in the leg, pulled out a .45-caliber handgun from his waistband and shot Womack once in the stomach.

Elliott put the gun in his truck before returning to his yard work "as if nothing ever happened," the report said

First responders found Womack lying in the street. He was airlifted to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Elliott was arrested at the scene and booked into the Liberty County Jail on a charge of murder.

He was being held on $1 million bond, according to online jail records.

Eric Lee Elliott, 70, was charged with murder after authorities in Texas say he shot his neighbor on Friday during an ongoing dispute over a dog running loose in the neighborhood. (Liberty County Sheriff’s Office)

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