The 80-year-old man who was indicted after police alleged he shot a door-to-door salesman in Scottsdale said he wasn't sure if a 21-year-old man speeding “aggressively” towards him on a Segway was going to strike him.
Patrick Joseph McBride is accused of shooting Juan Hoffman on Sept. 13 after telling Hoffman to leave the gated community near Hawknest and Pima roads, according to police documents. After McBride told Hoffman to leave, he continued going door-to-door, according to a letter from McBride’s attorney, Jefferson Simmons.
Before leaving McBride's house, he pointed his phone at McBride's home as if he were taking a photo or video, which "did not sit well" with McBride, according to documents.
McBride told police he got a gun and he and his
wife left their house to search for the man who rang his doorbell, court documents said.
Hoffman eventually approached McBride while on the Segway, and McBride drew his gun, according to Simmons. Hoffman was holding an object, which turned out to be a phone.
“In that split second, Mr. McBride could not be sure what it was, and believing he was about to be struck, he raised his arm to protect himself,” Simmons wrote. “The gun discharged when they made contact.”
McBride drew his handgun from a holster and swiped at him with it when the firearm "went off," according to court documents. Police found Hoffman lying face down with a bullet wound in his lower right back.
According to the police report, McBride described himself as "being skilled with firearms."
He didn't realize he had shot Hoffman at first, and then told his wife to call 911 and retrieve a cold compress after he lifted up the man's shirt and noticed a gunshot wound in the man's back, McBride told police. After identifying himself to responding officers, McBride reported that the man "made a move" on him, but it wasn't his intent to shoot him, documents said.
Hoffman was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, unable to feel his legs.
He has begun to slowly recover. According to a GoFundMe set up for Hoffman, in late September he was able to take his first steps without a walker following the shooting.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 80-year-old said speeding scooter led to Scottsdale salesman shooting
