Neighbor shot in face in gunfight over public urination, Alabama police say

Two neighbors exchanged gunfire and one was shot in the face during an argument Sunday over one of them urinating outside, according to police and media reports.

John Williams, 38, asked a man to get off his property in Grand Bay, Alabama, around 7 a.m. Sunday when the neighbor was urinating on his lawn, Williams’ girlfriend, Toccara Finkley, told WALA-TV.

The man angry about the urination and the man accused of urinating continued to argue before they went to their respective vehicles to retrieve their guns, the sheriff’s office said, according to The Birmingham News. At least 10 shots were fired, according to WALA.

“The one who was mad about the guy peeing is the one who fired the first shots and he got shot,” Mobile County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Paul Burch told The Birmingham News. “It’s not life-threatening. He’s shot in the face. He walked himself to the helicopter.”

Finkley said the bullet went straight through her boyfriend’s mouth and she administered first aid to him.

“It was very scary to see blood gushing. To actually see the impact of the whole situation and him bleeding and hollering, it’s just too much,” Finkley told WALA. “A girl I work with is a nurse so she coached me through everything - apply pressure to stop the bleeding real fast.”

Williams was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, Florida, the sheriff’s office said, according to WPMI.

The man who fired the shots at Williams was questioned by police and released, WPMI reported.

Because it was a rural area in the county, there is not an ordinance about urinating in public, Burch told The Birmingham News.

The sheriff’s office captain also told WPMI the case will likely be presented to the district attorney’s office as a self-defense case.

This story was originally published February 3, 2020 at 2:57 PM with the headline "Neighbor shot in face in gunfight over public urination, Alabama police say."