14 DAY TRIAL // 55-year-old Thomas Hahn is facing second-degree murder charges after shooting his roommate over how to prepare pork chops.
The man from Volusia County in Florida argued with one of his three roommates on Tuesday, December 11, before 10:30 p.m. local time.
According to Holly Hill police, the discussion started when the 35-year-old arrived home intoxicated, that night. Hahn pulled a weapon and shot his roommate, in what officers have dubbed “a senseless act of violence.”
Hahn used a .22-caliber Ruger rifle to gun down the man, Los Angeles Times reports. At least three shots were fired, two of which hit his victim.
He died on the spot, reports say. As emergency operators were called in to the May Avenue home in Holly Hill, police were deployed to find a deceased man, who had been shot in the head. He was identified as 35-year-old Robert Eugene Gray, Jr.
Police found Thomas Matthew Hahn sitting in a chair in the house, in the proximity of the victim's body. The other 2 residents of the home were present at the time of the shooting, International Business Times writes.
Orlando Sentinel writes that he was taken to Volusia County Branch Jail, where he is awaiting prosecution. He stands to be charged with second-degree murder.
Police are investigating whether or not Hahn had a different motive for ending the life of his flat mate. He allegedly told his other roommates “that should be enough” as he was loading his rifle.
“There is no clear answer at this hour as to why [he] acted with such extreme violence,” Holly Hill Chief of Police Mark Barker told reporters.
“This appears to be a senseless act of violence stemming from a minor domestic dispute between roommates,” he said in a press conference.