A man accused of shooting a fisherman near his home has been charged with two counts of felony assault.
The suspect, Floyd Kirby, 75, is free on bond and set to appear in court for arraignment Tuesday on two counts of aggravated assault. He made a $20,000 property bond shortly after being charged with the two felony counts, both of which carry three to six years in prison.
Kirby avoided attempted murder charges, which are conceivable since he reportedly continued to fire upon his victims as they were trying to flee.
The grand jury could decide to indict Kirby on a higher charge, including attempted murder. The grand jury could also opt not to indict Kirby at all.
His charges come after he allegedly shot Ken Murray while the fisherman was on Harvest Farms Lake on Tuesday. Murray and fellow fisherman Stan Owenby are both listed as the victims on the counts of aggravated assault. Owenby was not hit by gunfire.
The victims say Kirby began yelling obscenities at them from the bank and telling them to get off his property. Kirby lives on property with frontage on the lake as does Murray, who lives just a few doors down. After making threats, the victims say Kirby began shooting at them with what they think was a 22 caliber gun before getting a shotgun and opening fire. They say he fired four or more shots.
At least one blast hit Murray and knocked him from the boat. Owenby was unable to get the boat started and yelled for Kirby to stop shooting after he wounded his friend. He was eventually able to get the boat going and the pair made it to a nearby dock where Kirby made it to the road and met an ambulance.
Kirby was taken into custody a short time later and his guns were seized. According to sheriff’s investigator Capt. Bo Ramsey, the guns have been sent to the TBI for analysis.
As for the question of property ownership, fellow residents maintain fishing rights are shared among those living on the lake, meaning Kirby has no sole territorial right concerning the waters immediately off his bank. Authorities are not revealing how far Murray and Owenby were from shore when the shooting began.