Florida man accused of killing neighbor after cat wandered on property

[Judi Lynn]

Clifton Anthony Bliss Jr. had threatened neighbors with a gun in the past, according to a sheriff's department affidavit.

Oct. 22, 2021, 11:11 PM CDT
By Dennis Romero

A Florida man is accused of fatally shooting a neighbor whose cat walked onto his property, authorities said.
Clifton Anthony Bliss Jr., 58, was arrested Wednesday and charged with second-degree homicide, the Marion County Sheriff's Department said.

"Mr. Bliss was so upset that his neighbor’s cat had wandered over into his yard that he went, retrieved a rifle, leaves his home, goes across the street to the victim’s home" before opening fire on the victim, sheriff's Sgt. Paul Bloom told NBC affiliate WFLA.

. . .

Bloom added that Taylor had pleaded, "Please don't kill my cat," before gunfire erupted.

A neighbor who drove by after the shooting saw Taylor on the ground and asked if he was all right. "No, I'm dying," he responded, according to the affidavit.

More:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-man-allegedly-kills-neighbor-over-cat-his-property-n1282199

[GPV]

1. Jesus! All I can say is this dude has all the Covid bullseyes on him. We'll see if he makes

it through his trial.

[raccoon]

2. Wonder if this old hateful man would be eligible for the death penalty. Nt

[DFW]

3. I'm sure he believes in it

And everyone should be entitled to his beliefs............

[malaise]

4. He looks the part

[malaise]

5. He looks the part

[Sherman A1]

6. I'm no fan of cats in anyway and think the world would be better off with fewer of

Them, but this seems a bit excessive a response.

[marble falls]

10. The problem with cats is irresponsible human who treat cats as disposable and don't spay ...

or neuter.

[kcr]

11. Seems a bit excessive?

You think?

[Sherman A1]

12. That's what I said

So yeah, I think.

[KG]

7. the 2A makes this country suck

[marble falls]

8. Jack ass. I hope he spends a long time inside. He looks great in stripes.

[CanonRay]

9. Is that still a crime in Florida?

or does he get a Medal of Freedumb? I thought you could pretty much just shoot anyone for any reason in Florida.

[Wingus Dingus]

13. Piece of shit. Hope you enjoy prison, it's cat free.

[ProfessorGAC]

14. May Be A Surprise, But...

...there's no law in Florida allowing anybody to shoot an animal, unless that animal is actively attack a person or other animals owned by the shooter.
So, I'm surmising he was planning to shoot the cat.
IOW, he started out with intent to break the law & then broke an even more serious one.
Does that constitute aggravating circumstances, since he fully intended to commit a crime?

[LiberatedUSA]

15. I just don't get the rage here.

Like I could see someone going over and murdering their neighbor over the neighbor for purposefully killing their pet for yard wandering, but to get neighbor murderous over the cat walking in his yard? Most that angry would have shot the cat…then que the new possibility on how this paragraph started.

I am actually surprised there has been no revenge shootings on cops who have shot animals. Pet owners can be very attached to their animals.

[LisaL]

16. As far as I can tell he couldn't find the cat.

Which is presumably why the cat is still alive.

[LiberatedUSA]

17. Well I know one thing for certain.

If he got angry enough to murder someone over their pet’s actions, then he was gonna kill someone sooner or later. I wonder if he had anything in his records that would have prevented the gun ownership.

[joetheman]

19. Did anybody see him on Jan 6?

[Boomerproud]

18. The story quotes his wife.

Someone married him? Ewww.

[renate]

20. Seriously. How have we descended so far that this is unexpected in the United States of America

I really don’t think there is another country in the world where this could totally expectedly happen. Yes, other countries are far more violent. But where else would someone be killed, unshockingly and unsurprisingly, over a CAT?

[Demovictory9]

21. no more worries about cats for him