A Gainesville man confronted a group of about seven teenagers on a basketball court Sunday afternoon and shot the ground near their feet, Gainesville Police said.
Eric Scott Springborn, 28, drove his SUV aggressively towards a group of teenagers on the basketball court, skidding to a halt in the grass and getting out of the car with a handgun at the Lamplighter Mobile Home Community, located at 5200 NE 39th Ave., Officer Ben Tobias, a GPD spokesperson, wrote in an email. Tobias said the shooting happened overnight without specifying a day, but an arrest report said it happened at about 2 p.m. Sunday.
He pointed the gun toward the group and told them he’d take care of them if they ever messed with his car again, Tobias said. Police said he then shot a bullet into the ground near the court.
Police found a 9 mm shell casing and lead bullet near the court, according to the report.
Springborn lives in the area and was angry at neighborhood kids for allegedly messing with his car, Tobias said.
Although he initially denied shooting a gun, Springborn later told police the teenagers were jumping up and down on the hood of the car when he confronted them and had to take matters into his own hands because the police never do anything about it, according to the report. The car did not show any signs of this, police said.
There were about seven young teenagers on the court, but only three wanted to speak with the police, according to the report. They all ran in fear of their lives.
Springborn was arrested and charged with three counts of aggravated assault. He was taken to the Alachua County Jail, where he remains, as of press time, in lieu of a $24,000 bond.
Contact Robert Lewis at rlewis@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @Lewis__Robert.
Eric Scott Springborn
