Titusville, Florida

From Melbourne’s FloridaToday.com of July 22, 2007

Titusville police: Killing looks like self-defense

Titusville Police said this afternoon they’re confident William Herring shot two men with a handgun — one fatally — in self-defense after they broke into his garage and attacked him with a pipe and tire iron.

Herring was working in his garage at 908 S. Washington Avenue in downtown Titusville when he spotted two men on his property “in an area they didn’t belong,” Assistant Police Chief John Lau said. The two men attacked Herring, who grabbed a gun and fire three shots, Lau said.

Herring then called 9-1-1 to report the shooting. When officers arrived at 12:30 a.m. they found 44-year-old William Wade Hose of Mims dead.

Christopher J. Zagorski, 47, also of Mims, was transported to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne with serious injuries.

“Both shooting victims knew the (resident), and there appears to have been some type of feud between them,” Hutchinson said in a news release.

Investigators this afternoon are still trying to establish the relationship between the three men.

A pipe and tire iron found in the garage were taken into evidence.

Herring had injuries consistent with being hit by blunt objects, Lt. Todd Hutchinson said.

The investigation is expected to take several days. Detectives have not been able to interview the surviving shooting victim, Hutchinson said.

From Melbourne’s FloridaToday.com of July 27, 2007

New facts come out in Titusville shooting

Homeowner knew 1 intruder

A Titusville man who told police he fatally shot one intruder and wounded another in an act of self-defense grew up with one of the man in Long Island, N.Y., the man's sister said Friday.

Police said one of the intruders was carrying a gun when the shooting occurred.

The home's resident William Herring has not been charged, and authorities have said the preliminary investigation indicates self-defense. But prosecutors will review the case, Titusville Lt. Todd Hutchinson said.

"At this point the physical evidence matches the shooting suspect's version of events," he said. "However, the complete findings and facts will be shared with the state attorney's office, and together we will determine whether there are any criminal charges applicable in this case."

According to police, Herring was working in his garage at 908 S. Washington Ave. when he said he spotted two intruders on his property. He said Christopher J. Zagorski, 47, of Mims and William Hose, 44, of Mims attacked him with a pipe and a tire iron. Herring grabbed a handgun he kept in the garage and shot three times, killing Hose and seriously injuring Zagorski.

Hose, the son of the York County, Pa., Sheriff Bill Hose, was shot first in the stomach and then in the back, Hutchinson said.

Sheriff Hose declined to comment to FLORIDA TODAY.

It was the shot to the back, which hit between the shoulder blades and out the chest, that killed the younger Hose, said Rodney Belcher with the Brevard County medical examiner's office.

The medical examiner's report listed the second bullet wound as entering the front of the left thigh and came out the left buttock, Belcher said.

Titusville police said they recovered a handgun from Zagorski. Detectives are investigating what sparked the incident, including the possibility of a debt Herring may have owed the men.

"Our investigators are looking into whether the shooting suspect owed these victims money," Hutchinson said.

From the Hanover (PA) Evening Sun of August 4, 2007

Shooting of sheriff's son likely in self-defense

A Titusville man who told police he fatally shot one intruder and wounded another in an act of self-defense grew up with one of the men in Long Island, N.Y., the man's sister said Friday.

Police said one of the intruders was carrying a gun when the shooting occurred.

William H. Hose, the son of York County Sheriff Bill Hose, was killed during the alleged break-in, police said.

The home's resident William Herring has not been charged, and authorities have said the preliminary investigation indicates it was self-defense. But prosecutors will review the case, Titusville Lt. Todd Hutchinson said.