LOVE THY NEIGHBOR? Ohio Man attacks neighbor in order to kill a Democrat

LOVE THY NEIGHBOR? Ohio Man attacks neighbor in order to kill a Democrat

Bond has been set for a Butler County, Ohio man charged with murder in the shooting death of his neighbor. 26-year-old Austin Gene Combs allegedly shot Anthony Lee King, 43, multiple times in the victim’s backyard in what’s rumored to be a politically motivated crime against a supposed Democrat.

The victim’s wife told operators she heard gunshots while inside the house to let the dog out. “I said to my son, what the heck was that?” she told dispatchers.

“I looked at the backyard, and that man was walking away from my husband,” WCPO Cincinnati reported.

“I look in the backyard and that man is walking away from my husband and my husband is on the ground,” the woman said. “He has come over like four times confronting my husband because he thought he was a Democrat, Why, why … Please, I don’t understand.”

“My neighbor just shot my dad,” a male told dispatchers.

King’s son said Combs had been over “multiple times,” and called him “insane.”

“Stay inside the house, keep the doors locked, I know that’s hard for you to accept right now, but I need to make sure you two are safe,” the dispatcher told the family members.

The shooting was ruled a homicide by the Butler County Coroner, according to The Butler County News Journal.  King’s family says this wasn’t the first time Combs had confronted the father.

Reports of political violence increased in the week leading up to election day – heightening concerns about the impact of violent rhetoric and hateful speech. The radicalization and weaponization of American citizens who are susceptible to fear-mongering and gaslighting. The fetishization of guns and normalization of violence are leading the country down a dark and potentially irreversible road.

The incident is still under investigation by the Sheriff’s department, which says additional charges may be considered. Combs is currently being held on a $950,000 bond.

Original reporting by Lauren Pack at The Butler County News Journal

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Ty Ross

News journalist for Washington Press and Occupy Democrats.