Elderly Couple Shot Dead by Neighbor Over HOA Dispute: Police

An elderly couple were shot dead over an alleged homeowners association (HOA) dispute, according to Florida police.

The Martin County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) raced to the Cedar Pointe Condominium Complex on East Ocean Boulevard following reports of a shooting at about 3:18 p.m. on Saturday.

When officers arrived they found Ginger Wallace, 81, and her husband Henry, also 81, had been fatally shot.

According to Treasure Coast Newspapers, the couple were shot just feet away from their door and that they had suffered bullet wounds to their chests.

Henry was reportedly found clutching his house keys, according to the network.

According to The Gun Violence Archive, a database that collects information about shootings from across the U.S., 104 people in Florida have been shot dead since November 1 this year.

Police subsequently apprehended 75-year-old Hugh Hootman on suspicion of having shot the elderly couple.

An MCSO spokesperson said in a Sunday Facebook post: "An ongoing despute appeared to be at the center of the killings. Hootman lived in the condominium above the Wallaces."

Sheriff William Snyder told Treasure Coast Newspapers that Ginger was president of the condo complex's HOA and that she and Henry had gotten into a dispute with Hootman in the days leading up to the shooting.

He added: "It does appear to us from witness statements that the shooter and Ginger had some disagreement over HOA issues.

"I don't know what those were, though."

First-Degree Murder Charges

Photos taken outside the complex showed mobile tents being erected close to one of the homes and police tape placed across a large section of the area.

Hootman has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, according to the MCSO spokesperson.

Newsweek has contacted the MCSO for comment.

In November, Georgia couple Justin and Amber Hicks, both 31, was shot and killed in their home by an unknown assailant.

The pair were found dead at their home in Acworth, according to Cobb County Police investigators.

While police searched the property on Verbena Drive, they found a two-year-old child who was unharmed. The toddler is now in the care of family members.

Police said they didn't know whether the shooting had been committed by one or more assailants and there was no indication the suspected shooter had remained in the area.

In April, New Hampshire police found an elderly couple had been shot dead near a hiking trail.

Stephen Reid, 67, and Djeswende Reid, 66, were found dead in the area of the Broken Ground Trails, in Concord, according to the state's Department of Justice.

An autopsy later found the couple had been shot dead.