ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A 38-year-old-year-old man was killed Friday afternoon after he was shot by the father of a worker while reconstructing a home in St. Petersburg, authorities said.
Officers received a call just after 1:30 p.m. regarding a shooting at a vacant home on Farragut Drive North that was under construction to be remodeled, the St. Petersburg Police Department (SPPD) said in a news release.
At the construction site, Mostafa Ah Abdo, the general contractor at the site, and a subcontractor tile worker got into an argument regarding payment. The argument escalated when the title worker began to smash completed tile work, SPPD said.
Ah Abdo then went to his truck to grab a gun and came back to threaten the tile worker. However, the tile worker's father, identified as Yamel Benitez, was also a tile worker and heard the argument. Benitez then pulled out his own gun and shot Ah Abdo to "defend his son," police said.
The 38-year-old man was taken to a hospital but later died due to his serious injuries.
SPPD said Benitez's action was justifiable self-defense of another and will not be arrested.
Florida unlicensed contractor faces a bond normally reserved for murderers and violent criminals.
