An upstate man was shot dead and his son was wounded in a violent scuffle between neighbors that also saw a woman get slammed in the face with a shovel, state police said.
William Kratz, 44, was arrested after the bloody scrap in Baldwinsville shortly after midnight Monday that left his downstairs neighbor dead, the man’s son in serious condition at a local hospital, and an upstairs neighbor with facial injuries, police said in a press release.
Kratz was charged with criminal possession of a weapon while troopers continue to investigate.
Kratz was in possession of a “ghost gun” — a weapon assembled from individual parts and therefore untraceable because it does not have a serial number, syracuse.com reported.
The outlet said that the deadly dispute was sparked over damage allegedly done to a vehicle outside the home where both sets of neighbors lived in Baldwinsville, which is about 14 miles north of Syracuse.
During the scuffle, Kratz, who lives on the second floor of a home, shot downstairs neighbor William Delaney, 44, and Delaney’s 27-year-son.
Both men were taken to a local hospital, where Delaney was pronounced dead and his son was listed in serious condition but is expected to survive.
An unidentified 36-year-old woman who also lived in the second-floor apartment was hit in the face with a shovel — although police have not announced who struck her.
Authorities are investigating whether Kratz fired in self-defense, syracuse.com said in a separate report.
