SPRING HILL, Fla. — Words exchanged and bullets fired overnight Saturday left one man dead and another charged with murder outside a bar in Spring Hill, deputies said.
Now, the accused shooter is recovering after shooting himself while trying to get away, the Hernando County Sheriff's Office said.
It happened just before 2 a.m. Aug. 18 at the Mermaids Lounge on Commercial Way. According to deputies, 35-year-old Joshua Howard shot Willie Joe Frazier Jr. multiple times outside the lounge, killing Frazier.
Witnesses reportedly told deputies it started when Frazier bumped into Howard while inside the Mermaids Lounge. Howard left the bar and waited for Frazier outside the front door.
Not long after, Frazier also exited the bar. When he did, Howard reportedly confronted Frazier asking him "Why (Frazier) put his hands on him."
The two exchanged words before Frazier reportedly started walking away. However, deputies said Howard followed him and that's when Frazier appeared to punch Howard.
Howard then pulled out a gun and shot Frazier multiple times, according to the agency, who said the shooting was caught on surveillance video. Frazier was rushed to the hospital where he died.
After the shooting, Howard reportedly ran away on foot. As he did, deputies said he shot himself in the side while he tried to put his gun into his pants' waistband. Deputies said they found Howard a short time later at a nearby business not far from the intersection of Berkeley Manor Boulevard and Frontage Road.
Howard was taken to a local trauma center for treatment of his self-inflicted wound where he is being guarded, the sheriff's office said. Howard currently faces a 2nd-degree murder with a firearm charge. Once he is released from hospital, he will be booked into jail.
