FL Tow Truck Driver Shot, Killed Man During Repossession: Reports

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL — A tow truck driver shot and killed a vehicle’s owner during a repossession Wednesday morning in Fort Lauderdale, according to multiple reports.

The victim, 38-year-old Clarence King, confronted the driver who was trying to repossess his car, a Chevy Malibu, around 10 a.m. in the city’s Melrose Park neighborhood, according to reports.

“The victim sees him trying to repossess his vehicle, the victim confronts the tow truck driver, some sort of altercation ensued between the victim and the shooter, and that’s when shots were fired,” Fort Lauderdale police spokesperson Casey Liening told WSVN.

King, whose young daughter was reportedly standing a few feet away from him at the time of the shooting, died at the scene.

The victim’s mother, Shirley Horsford King, told NBC Miami in a phone interview, "You gonna shoot my son down like that? It’s not gonna happen. That’s a coward. He’s a punk."

Audio from the 911 calls about the incident were released Thursday.

One caller told a dispatcher, “I need an ambulance right now! I need an ambulance right now!”

A witness who lives in the neighborhood told Local 10 News that it “sounded like four shots — pop, pop, pop.”

“The tow truck driver was just standing over the body on the phone. He looked up, started looking around, started seeing multiple people coming up, and that’s when he started jumping up and down saying, ‘I think I just killed a man,'” another witness told WSVN.

She added, “He had no weapon. He didn’t even have on shoes. It looked like he’d just got out of bed.”

Police are working with the Broward County State Attorney’s Office to determine whether charges will be filed against the tow truck driver, who hasn’t been identified, reports said.