Key Takeaways
- A 77-year-old woman shot a 57-year-old man in self-defense after he pushed her into her vehicle and assaulted her in a Macclenny parking lot.
- The incident occurred early morning at the Macclenny Veterinary Hospital as part of her routine to feed stray cats.
- Deputies report that the woman used a handgun from her vehicle to defend herself during the assault.
- Residents describe the area as normally peaceful, and the woman had no time to wait for help before acting.
- The investigation is ongoing, and the sheriff’s office has not yet released the woman’s name.
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MACCLENNY, FL — A 77-year-old woman who gets up before dawn almost every day to feed stray cats shot and killed a 57-year-old man who pushed her into her own vehicle and kept assaulting her Monday morning in the parking lot of Macclenny Veterinary Hospital, and the Baker County Sheriff’s Office says its preliminary investigation indicates she acted in self-defense.
Deputies responded to the veterinary hospital around 4:30 a.m. after a report of a shooting, as reported by First Coast News. Undersheriff Randy Crews identified the man as Alvin Tisdale, 57, and said the woman is well known to deputies and to the community because she goes to numerous businesses around Baker County nearly every day to feed stray cats. She was in the lot Monday as part of that routine.
According to Crews, Tisdale approached her in the parking lot. He pushed her into her vehicle. He kept assaulting her. She reached into the vehicle, retrieved her handgun, and fired one round at him. Tisdale was taken to the hospital, where he died.
The handgun was in the vehicle, not on her body, and she had to reach for it while the assault was still underway. That it was close enough to reach is the only reason it mattered. A gun locked in a glove box or buried under a seat would not have been. Where you stage a firearm is a mindset decision you make long before anyone tests it.
A 57-year-old man pushing a 77-year-old woman into a car and continuing to assault her is the threat. She did not have to wait to learn what he intended once the door closed. Residents told First Coast News this is normally a quiet, peaceful part of Baker County, and at 4:30 in the morning in a rural parking lot, help was not going to arrive in time. The handgun gave her an option she otherwise did not have.
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Tisdale’s nephew, Akeem Brown, told First Coast News he learned of his uncle’s death on Facebook and could not believe it. “I just hope and pray that the lady is all right, and I’m sorry for my uncle’s loss and our family,” he said.
The sheriff’s office has not released the woman’s name. The investigation remains active, and no charging decision has been reported.
