Authorities in central Florida say a city commissioner fatally shot a customer during a dispute over a hatchet inside the Army Navy surplus store he co-owns.
The shooting happened Wednesday afternoon at the Vets Army Navy Surplus Store in Lakeland, according to officials.
Officials with the local police department said in an email that officers found 50-year-old Cristobal Lopez lying face-up just outside the door.
Lopez was pronounced dead at the scene.
Gross said witnesses told investigators Lopez entered the store with his father.
While the older man was making a purchase, Commissioner Michael Dunn saw Lopez trying to steal a hatchet. Dunn asked if he was going to pay the item, a confrontation ensued and Dunn fired a gun, striking Lopez.
A criminal investigation is underway.
Dunn took office on the Lakeland City Commission in January.