A Scottsdale man is behind bars after police said he shot a door-to-door solicitor in the back during a confrontation on Sept. 13 that potentially left the solicitor paralyzed.
Officers responded to a gated community near 86th Place and Hawknest Road at around 4:21 p.m. after a woman called 911 and reported that her husband, later identified as Patrick McBride, 80, had shot another man but didn't know why, according to court documents.
McBride later told police that the man had rung the doorbell of his front-yard gate and asked for water as he had been working a job in the community, documents said. McBride became suspicious and confronted the man about his story before ordering him to leave the gated community as it was private property.
The man
left on his segway, but not before pointing 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 then retrieved a Sig Saur P365 9mm handgun from his safe and left his house to find the man on his segway about 100 feet away, though still within the neighborhood, documents said. McBride yelled at the man that he needed to leave when the man began to ride his segway toward McBride while pulling out his phone.
Concerned as to the man's intentions, McBride drew his handgun from a holster and swiped at him with it when the firearm "went off," according to court documents. McBride repeated his command to leave the neighborhood when the man replied that he couldn't feel his legs, documents said.
He didn't realize he had shot the man and 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.
McBride told police he had picked up a bullet casing and put it in his pocket to keep it from getting run over, documents said.
The man was taken to a hospital where he underwent surgery for an L1 and L2 spinal cord injury but still had no feeling in his legs. He told police he worked as a door-to-door solicitor for a window-washing service and that McBride became confrontational and demanded he leave the neighborhood, documents said.
The man said he didn't immediately leave the area as he believed he had dropped his wallet and was looking for it when McBride approached him while yelling at him to leave, documents said. He told police he was backing away on his segway and turned around to leave after he saw McBride draw a handgun when he heard a gunshot and felt something in his back, documents said.
It was the last time he felt anything in his legs.
Police booked McBride into jail on one count of aggravated assault and one count of disorderly conduct where he's being held on a $150,000 secured-appearance bond. He remains in jail as of Sept. 14, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office's website.
Reach the reporter Perry Vandell at perry.vandell@arizonarepublic.com or 480-341-9433.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Scottsdale man accused of shooting door-to-door solicitor
