An Ocklawaha man who told deputies he had recently bought a shotgun and “wanted to shoot it” was arrested after a neighbor reported seeing him point a long gun in her direction moments before a shot rang out.
Lawrence Gangaram, 29, was arrested Aug. 26 on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, firing a weapon in public or on residential property and resisting an officer without violence, according to a Marion County Sheriff’s Office arrest affidavit.
Deputies responded to the Malaika Radial area of Ocklawaha after receiving a report of a neighbor shooting at a woman while she was outside watering plants.
The woman told deputies she was on the east side of her property when she heard Gangaram slam his front door before walking outside. She said he then raised what appeared to be a long, black rifle in her direction.
She ran inside.
While running into her home, the woman told deputies she heard a loud noise she believed was a gunshot. Her daughter, who was inside the home, also reported hearing a loud boom and looking out a window to see Gangaram standing near the front door of his residence.
The woman told deputies she did not know Gangaram personally, but said the two had another encounter two days earlier when he allegedly yelled an obscenity at her as he rode past her home in a vehicle.
Deputies identified Gangaram through property records, photographs and information provided by the victim’s grandson, according to the affidavit.
A perimeter was established around Gangaram’s home and deputies attempted to make contact using a patrol vehicle loudspeaker, but received no response. Investigators then obtained a search warrant for the residence.
Marion County SWAT responded and began issuing commands from the front yard using a BearCat loudspeaker. Gangaram and his wife eventually exited the home and were taken into custody without incident.
Gangaram’s wife told deputies she had been sleeping and did not hear sirens until SWAT arrived. She said Gangaram owned a shotgun kept inside the home and that, after hearing a single gunshot outside, Gangaram walked back inside and told her, “he shot the gun in the air.”
During a search of the home, deputies reported finding a black Maverick Arms 12-gauge shotgun inside a gun case. A spent shell casing for an American Whitetail slug was also found inside the shotgun.
Gangaram later told deputies he had recently purchased the shotgun and wanted to shoot it. He said he opened his door and fired one slug round into the sky, according to the affidavit.
He denied seeing anyone outside when he fired and told deputies that if he had wanted to shoot someone, “he wouldn’t miss,” the report states.
Gangaram also allegedly told deputies his neighbors were “always yelling at him, stalking him, and wanting to fight him every time he goes outside,” which he said was why he rarely left his home.
He was transported to the Marion County Jail without further incident.
