Fort Lauderdale

Tow Truck Driver Fatally Shoots Car Owner During Confrontation in Fort Lauderdale: Police

The tow truck driver was detained and was cooperating with the investigation, police said

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Police are investigating after a tow truck driver fatally shot a car owner while he was trying to repossess a vehicle during a confrontation in Fort Lauderdale Wednesday morning.

The incident unfolded around 10 a.m. at a neighborhood in the 100 block of Carolina Avenue.

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"It sounded like four shots. Pop, pop, pop, but very loud," resident Angela Mohammad said.

Fort Lauderdale Police officials said officers responding to 911 calls of a shooting arrived at the scene and found a man fatally shot.

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Investigators said the tow truck driver had arrived to repossess a vehicle and that's when a confrontation and altercation ensued.

Shots were fired and the car owner was killed, police said.

NBC 6's Xochitl Hernandez has more on the incident that took place Wednesday, claiming the life of one man.

Footage from the scene showed the owner's body next to the tow truck, his black Chevy Malibu attached to the back.

A neighbor said the car owner was visiting his girlfriend with his young daughter when he was killed.

"I didn’t see him moving so it took me for a loop because his daughter was actually just standing by the car by herself so it hit me hard," neighbor Robert Sowell said. "I watched the tow truck driver get out and make sure his forks were under the vehicle. He got back in his car and lifted it up and drove southbound. As I get back, I see the tow truck is actually facing this way. So he came back. I don’t know why."

The tow truck driver was detained and was cooperating with the investigation, police said.

Neither man's identity was released.

"At this point we just have to ask some questions and figure out exactly what led up to this shooting and then we can determine at that point if charges will be filed," Fort Lauderdale Police spokesperson Casey Liening said.

Check back with NBC 6 for updates.

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