Florida man trying to shoot dog during attack kills it’s owner instead

What began as a chaotic dog attack in Lake County, Florida quickly turned into a homicide investigation, a school lockdown, and a manhunt for an armed suspect.

In a video report for WESH 2 News, reporter Justin Shecker said deputies were called to an area near a homeless camp in the woods off Griffin Road and Tally Box Road in Leesburg after a violent encounter involving dogs, gunfire, and multiple victims. By the time deputies had pieced together the first version of events, one man was dead, one woman was hospitalized with serious dog bites, and the suspected shooter had run off.

According to Shecker’s reporting, investigators believe the gunfire was first aimed at one of the dogs involved in the attack. But the shot did not strike only the animal. Instead, deputies say, it hit the dog’s owner, who later died.

It is the kind of case that sounds confusing even when explained slowly, because so many things appear to have gone wrong in a matter of seconds. A dog attack is already a frantic situation. Add a handgun, split-second decisions, and people moving in close quarters, and the result can turn deadly before anyone fully understands what is happening.

Deputies Say The Shooting Happened During A Dog Attack

Shecker reported from the active scene that Lake County deputies had been working the area since around 7:30 that morning.

He said the sheriff’s office told WESH 2 that a woman had been attacked and bitten several times by a dog. During that attack, deputies believe Matthew Lee Pasco, identified as the person of interest, stepped in and tried to shoot the dog, “presumably to protect the victim.”

That part of the story, on its face, sounds like an attempted intervention.

But according to the sheriff’s office statement aired by WESH 2, the dog’s owner then stepped between Pasco and the woman being attacked. At that point, the owner was shot.

Shecker said the owner was transported to a hospital with injuries but later died. The woman who had been bitten by the dog was also taken to a nearby hospital and was being treated for several bite wounds.

That sequence is what makes the case so grim. This was not, at least based on the reporting so far, a straightforward argument or an ordinary shooting scene. It was a fast-moving emergency where a man trying to stop one danger may have created another, even deadlier one.

The Scene Triggered A Search And A School Lockdown

As Justin Shecker explained, the area where this unfolded sits directly across from Carver Middle School.

Because deputies believed the suspected shooter was still armed and on the run, the school was placed on lockdown as a precaution. At the time of the live report, Shecker said they were still waiting for word from Lake County Schools on whether that lockdown had been lifted.

That detail adds another layer of tension to the story. A deadly shooting near a school is serious enough on its own. A fleeing armed suspect somewhere nearby raises the pressure even more, especially when families are trying to figure out whether students are safe and whether the danger is still close.

WESH 2 also aired exclusive Chopper 2 video over the area, showing just how large the active search scene had become. Deputies had set up a perimeter and were moving through the area while trying to track down the suspect.

Cases like this can quickly stretch far beyond the original incident. What starts as a confrontation between a few people becomes a public safety event affecting nearby roads, neighborhoods, and schools.

Who Deputies Were Looking For

Shecker told viewers that deputies had publicly identified the person of interest as 43-year-old Matthew Lee Pasco.

He described Pasco using the details provided by law enforcement: about 5-foot-11, with a prominent scar on the right side of his face, last seen wearing a navy blue T-shirt, and believed to still be armed with a handgun.

Deputies warned the public not to approach him and instead to call 911 immediately if they saw him.

That kind of warning usually tells you how seriously authorities were treating the search. This was not a situation where investigators merely wanted to ask a few questions. They were actively hunting for someone they believed had fled a deadly shooting and could still pose a danger.

The report from WESH 2 framed the case as a homicide investigation from the start, which suggests deputies were moving quickly to treat the shooting not as an accident to be sorted out later, but as a death demanding immediate criminal scrutiny.

That is significant, because intent becomes one of the hardest parts of any case like this. If someone says they were trying to stop a dog attack, that may explain why they fired. It does not automatically resolve what responsibility follows when a person ends up dead.

Animal Services Also Had To Step In

Another notable part of Shecker’s report was what happened with the animals involved.

He said Animal Services was at the scene and had taken possession of more than one dog. The supporting details behind the report indicate that ultimately two dogs were shot and one was killed.

That fact makes the entire event feel even more chaotic. It was not simply one shot, one victim, and one clean explanation. There were multiple animals, a woman suffering bite injuries, a dead owner, and an armed suspect running from the scene.

That kind of confusion is often where tragedy grows.

And it is one reason stories like this hit so hard. A person can try to intervene in a crisis and still make everything worse if the moment is too volatile, the angle is wrong, or the shot is taken under pressure without a clear lane. That does not answer the legal questions, but it does underline how unforgiving real-life violence can be.

A Fast-Moving Crisis With Lasting Consequences

Justin Shecker’s report from WESH 2 captured a situation that changed by the minute: deputies locking down an area, a school put into precautionary lockdown, Animal Services handling multiple dogs, a woman recovering from bites, and one man dead after a shot meant for an attacking dog allegedly struck him instead.

It is a brutal reminder that once a firearm enters an already chaotic scene, the margin for error can disappear almost instantly.

Even before the courts sort out what charges fit and what exactly each person did in those final moments, one fact is already settled. A man is dead who was alive before the shooting started, and a situation that may have begun with an attempt to stop violence ended by creating even more of it.

That is what makes the case so unsettling. It was over in moments, but the consequences will likely last for years.