Two men walking their dogs in a Hall County park didn’t know each other, according to investigators. And their dogs did not get along.
When the dogs started fighting Sunday afternoon, Todd Alexander Stalcup, 52, shot the other man’s dog before turning the gun on the owner, according to the Hall County Sheriff’s Office.
The shooting victim, Terry Wayne Loden, 70, of Gainesville, died at Northeast Georgia Medical Center, investigators said. His dog also died.
Stalcup’s dog appeared to be a Shih Tzu, investigators told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday. Loden’s dog was medium-sized and appeared to be mixed breed, the sheriff’s office said.
The shooting happened at Simpson Park off Ga. 53 around 3:30 p.m., authorities said.
“Stalcup initially remained at the scene but left in his SUV,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release. “Deputies took him into custody roughly 15 minutes after the shooting as he was leaving the park.”
Later Sunday, Stalcup was charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
“Following the preliminary investigation, it appears the murder suspect was defending his dog against the medium-sized mixed-breed dog,” the sheriff’s office explained. “Therefore, he was not charged in connection with the shooting of the victim’s dog.”
Stalcup was being held without bond Monday at the Hall jail. He has a Lawrenceville address but had been living in Gainesville, the sheriff’s office said.
The case remains under investigation.
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