Neighbor Arrested After Grandfather Shot Dead on Thanksgiving Over Loud Music Dispute

The alleged shooter, who has not yet been charged, was arrested on Thursday after Hureleyon McLean, 72, was shot and killed after he went to talk to his downstairs neighbor in a gated community in Lauderdale Lakes near Miami.

Police said in a press release that the neighbor “cooperated with detectives” and claimed that he shot McLean out of “self-defense.” The investigation is ongoing with police saying it will be handed to the Broward County State Attorney’s Office to determine if criminal charges will be filed.

Speaking with various local news outlets, the victim’s wife, Rose McLean, said that the couple had been preparing for their Thanksgiving celebration with family and friends when the neighbor interrupted.

“He came up there to ring the doorbell and leave a message,” Rose told Fox affiliate WSVN. She said that it was around 3:30 p.m. when she heard a shot ring out.

“He was playing his music, and the guy said he was playing it too loud,” Rose told WTVJ. “So my husband, he went down to him.” She said she hadn’t known her husband had gone downstairs to talk to the neighbor.

“I heard the gunshot, ‘boom,’ and I just fly to the door. I see my husband lying face down in the blood,” Rose told WSVN.

When asked if the neighbor seemed sorry, Rose said he did not. “No, he wasn’t sorry. He was just standing, looking at me with his gun in his hand the same way,” she recalled. “And I go up to him and say, ‘Why did you shoot my husband? Why?’ And he said to me If I didn’t shut my mouth, he would shoot me, too.”

Speaking with WTVJ, the alleged shooter reiterated the self-defense claim cited in the police report, but the McLean family isn’t buying it. “My husband didn’t have any weapons, my husband didn’t even have a knife on him,” Rose told the outlet.

Hureleyon McLean was father to two sons and a grandfather. He worked as a private bus driver.