Florida

Fla. City Commissioner Charged With Murder in Store Shooting

Michael Dunn, who was booked into Polk County Jail, has not commented about the incident

A state attorney said Friday that a city commissioner in central Florida was indicted on the charge of second-degree murder in the death of a suspected shoplifter at his military surplus store earlier this month, NBC News reported.

The Oct. 3 shooting was captured on store surveillance and showed Lakeland City Commissioner Michael Dunn firing at Christobal Lopez, 50, at the front door of Dunn's Vets Army & Navy Surplus.

Dunn could be seen grabbing Lopez, an agricultural laborer, as he tried to leave, then firing a semiautomatic Glock at him. Lopez was holding a hatchet in his right hand that belonged to the store, police said, but wasn't seen in the video physically threatening Dunn.

Dunn, who was booked into Polk County Jail, has not commented about the incident, which has drawn renewed attention to Florida's "stand your ground" law, enacted in 2005 with support from gun lobbyists. His attorney has previously said they haven't decided whether they would want to invoke the statute.

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