LINCOLN COUNTY, N.C. — A North Carolina woman was shot with a BB gun over a misunderstanding, and the pellet is still lodged in her arm.
Peggy Fox told WSOC-TV she saw a political sign in what she thought was her brother’s front yard. When she went to remove it, his 76-year-old neighbor shot her with an air gun, striking her near the elbow.
Fox said she thought the sign was placed in the yard by a prankster, as her brother never talks about politics. What’s more, the sign was placed closer to her brother’s front door than the neighbor’s house, and the exact property lines were unclear to her.
Woman shot with BB gun for removing Trump sign she thought was in wrong yard https://t.co/DMti6BUQ9T
— Michael Stolp (@StolpWSOC9) August 15, 2020
Fox didn’t make it a few steps before she felt the “excruciating pain” of the pellet.
“I looked up, and I heard this gentleman yelling at me,” she told WSOC-TV.
The neighbor, Worth McAllister, said he yelled at Fox to stop before he opened fire. Fox said she didn’t hear him say anything.
When Fox confronted McAllister, he encouraged her to call the police.
“You can’t shoot people on your property,” she told the news station. “He actually believed he could shoot me if I was on his property, and to me, that’s terrifying.”
Now McAllister, who said he purchased the BB gun to scare away stray cats on his property, faces a misdemeanor assault charge.
“You defend your property and you end up getting charged,” he said in response to the charges.
A Lincolnton man is charged for shooting a woman wt a BB gun in a dispute over a Trump 2020 sign. Peggy Fox showed us the BB still lodged in her arm. She thought her brother placed the sign as a prank. It belonged to his neighbor who said he was protecting his property. pic.twitter.com/tvLXGQFXbF
— Ken (@kenlemonWSOC9) August 14, 2020
Fox said she had no problem with the sign itself, she just didn’t want it on her brother’s property if it wasn’t his. She said she would have put it back if McAllister had just explained to her that it was his property.
“I think it speaks to the political divisions, and it’s really, really sad,” Fox said. “I just wish people would talk.”
McAllister said he meant to hit Fox in the rear end.
He’s also considering filing charges against Fox for attempted theft but has to wait until his assault charge is handled. His court date is set for November.
See more at WSOCTV.com.
WSOC-TV News Staff contributed to this report.
Cox Media Group
