County sheriff Gary Maha says Johnson entered the unlocked 7421 Selden Road home of 69-year-old Norman “Don” Ball around 3:50 a.m. and shot Ball in the head with a 12-gauge shotgun as he was sleeping. The suspect is a neighbor of the deceased, Brewster said.
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The names of the suspect and victim haven’t been released.
A suspect is in custody after allegedly setting his own home ablaze and then shooting and killing a neighbor Tuesday morning. While they and they vehicles didn’t get hit, they said bullets came within 200 feet of them.
The suspect in a shooting and arson in LeRoy has been identified by deputies. “No shots hit the officers or their vehicles”, said Maha.
“When he got out of the vehicle, heard the shots, looked up to his left, saw what he thought was the wadding from the shotgun going by his head and took cover”.
Shortly afterward, firefighters responded to a fire at Johnson’s house, about three-tenths of a mile from Ball’s house. When firefighters arrived, he allegedly shot at first responders.
Officials say he set it on fire himself.
Local police were assisted at the scene by several other law enforcement agencies, including the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office. It is believed he was attempting to commit “suicide by cop”.
Jon Marcello lives next door and said, “SWAT teams all around the house telling him to put the gun down and he wasn’t complying and he was actually taunting them, telling them to shoot him”.
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Maha said he would not speculate on what might have motivated Johnson, and wouldn’t reveal what Johnson told officers after his arrest.
