Police inspect the crime scene after a fatal Valentine's Day shooting. (MyFoxPhilly.com)
A neighborhood dispute over where a Chihuahua relieved itself leaves one Tacony man dead and his neighbor, a former school police officer, charged with murder.
The fatal Valentine's Day shooting happened on the 6500 block of Torresdale Avenue.
Police say it was shortly after 4 p.m. when 47-year-old Franklin Manual Santana went to a home two doors down to complain about a neighbor's dog relieving itself in his yard.
A police source tells FOX 29 News that the younger man, 27 year-old Tyrirk Harris, had been out for a walk with his Chihuahua. Harris was recently laid off from his job as a Philadelphia school police officer and had a permit for his gun.
Witnesses who live on the street tell detectives that the two men had previous arguments about Harris not cleaning up after his dog.
Harris apparently had the gun in a holster Tuesday as the two men talked on the front porch.
Then, the former school officer's gun was fired six times. Santana was pronounced dead at the scene. Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said at the scene that there was "a struggle over the weapon, and the weapon discharged several times, striking the 47-year-old, like I said, at least twice in the neck and in various parts of his body."
Small added, "We're looking into the possibility that the 27-year-old has a permit to carry. We're not sure. We did find a permit. We're not sure if that permit is still active, whether or not it's been revoked or expired. But we want to determine if in fact the permit is still good."
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