GAINESVILLE, GA – A 70-year-old Georgia man was shot and killed Sunday afternoon while walking his dog with his wife at a local park after a confrontation over fighting dogs turned deadly, authorities said.
Terry Wayne Loden was fatally shot by Todd Alexander Stalcup, 52, following an altercation that began when the two men’s dogs began fighting at a Gainesville park, according to the Hall County Sheriff’s Office.
Stalcup first shot Loden’s dog before turning the weapon on Loden himself, witnesses told investigators.
Cheryle Loden, the victim’s wife, described the horrifying sequence of events.
“He was on top of her pulling her off and about that time, the man just shot my dog, and Terry stood up and said, ‘Man what are you doing?’ And he just shot him,” she told reporters.
“When he fell, I just said, ‘I gotta call 911. I gotta call 911.'”
Stalcup remained briefly at the scene before departing. Deputies arrested him approximately 15 minutes later.
Terry Loden was speaking with his granddaughter on the phone at the time he was shot, according to family members. The two men had no prior acquaintance.
Stalcup faces charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
The shooting has left the Gainesville community in shock as residents grapple with the senseless violence that claimed the life of a grandfather during a routine walk with his wife.
