Authorities believe David Sproling fatally shot a man for stealing his tools.
A St. Louis man on Tuesday fatally shot a man for supposedly stealing his tools, authorities said.
David Allen Sproling, 51, confronted a man named William Kirkwood, 60, at gunpoint, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. According to police, Sproling and Kirkwood had been in an argument leading up to the shooting. Police believed Sproling had accused Kirkwood of stealing tools from his property.
Charging documents indicated Sproling had attempted to detain Kirkwood physically, and fired multiple shots after Kirkwood pried loose. Kirkwood was not armed, police said.
Police responded to the scene around 12:30 p.m. Kirkwood was transported a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead. According to court documents cited by the Post-Dispatch, Sproling admitted to shooting Kirkwood and gave up his pistol.
Sproling was charged Wednesday with involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action, the Post-Dispatch reported. Authorities haven’t indicated whether Sproling deliberately fired shots at Kirkwood or by accident.
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