A Gainesville man was arrested for attempted murder after he tried to shoot his roommate Monday, Alachua County Sheriff’s Office said.
Charles White Jr., 37, said a friend the roommate had invited over to celebrate the roommate’s 21st birthday was not welcome in their trailer at Palms of Archer, located at 7117 SW Archer Road, at about 9 p.m., ACSO Spokesperson Sgt. Chris Sims said.
The roommates argued, and White loaded a handgun he took from his waistband, Sims said.
White choked his roommate to near unconsciousness and hit him in the face with the handgun, Sims said.
When White pressed the gun to the roommate’s forehead, the roommate grabbed the gun’s barrel and wrestled with White over it before White fired a shot next to the roommate’s head, Sims said.
The roommate’s injuries were treated at a local emergency room, Sims said.
ACSO said deputies found 3,000 rounds of ammunition but not the gun the roommate described in his apartment.
Sims said motive is unclear, but deputies do not think it was an episode of mental illness.
White, who was convicted for felonies in 2002 and 2008, was arrested on charges of attempted murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. He was taken to the Alachua County Jail, where he remains, as of press time, in lieu of a $275,000 bond.
White
