LEESBURG, Fla. – A man knocking on several doors at a Leesburg apartment complex was shot and killed Thursday morning after trying to get inside one resident's apartment, according to police.
Leesburg police said Steven Mark Ricker, 41, died in the shooting, which happened around 4:15 a.m. at the Washington Street Apartments near Leesburg Regional Medical Center.
According to Leesburg police, 28-year-old Jimmy Soto told Ricker to leave after the man knocked on the back door of his apartment. The resident said Ricker knocked on other doors before knocking on his front door, according to police.
"He knocked on my door at 3 o'clock this morning, which I was unhappy about that," said Johnny Stinson, the complex's maintenance man.
Soto told police he repeatedly told Ricker to go away before getting his gun.
When Soto partially opened the door to tell Ricker that he had a gun, Ricker tried to pull the door open, and the man shot him in the torso, police said.
Soto said he was in fear for his fiancee, daughter and son, all of whom were all in the apartment, police said.
"He's pretty much protecting his family," Stinson said. "He gave the guy a chance to leave but instead of the guy leaving he wants to rush up into your house. So he did the same thing I would've did."
Ricker was taken to Leesburg Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead about 90 minutes later, police said.
"Steven is not a person given to violence," said Ricker's mother, Del. "He's never been any trouble for being aggressive. He's never been aggressive here."
She wonders why her son was knocking on doors in the middle of the night.
She says Ricker did fight alcoholism, but she says he was on the path of fighting it.
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