Man Killed In Dog Park Faced Anti-Gay Threats From Gunman, Loved Ones Say

Family and friends of a Florida man who was fatally shot at a dog park on Feb. 2 say the gunman had made homophobic threats toward him for years. 

The day before he was killed, 52-year-old John Walter Lay sent a video to his friends describing a man who was making threats to his life, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

In the video, which was obtained by the Tampa Bay Times, Lay said the person had approached him that morning and screamed, Youre gonna die!

So this morning while Im walking and were the only two here he comes up to me and screams at me, Youre going to die, youre going to die, and I asked him to just leave me alone, and so far he has, Lay said in the video.

Lays family and friends say he was talking about Gerald Declan Radford, 65, who told law enforcement he killed Lay in self-defense.

I was attacked. I defended myself. End of story, Radford told the Tampa Bay Times.

Radford was not arrested. The Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office told HuffPost in an email on Wednesday that there are currently no criminal charges against him and that the investigation would be turned over to the state attorneys office when its concluded by the sheriffs office.

A spokesperson for the local state attorneys office told HuffPost on Thursday that it has not yet received a report on the investigation.

Lays loved ones say they do not believe Radford was acting in self-defense. Albert Darlington, Lays friend and landlord, told the Tampa Bay Times that the victim had faced homophobic threats from Radford, who goes by Dec, for more than a year. 

For over a year, Dec has done nothing but harass Walt. He screams and hollers and calls him a f****t every time he gets to the dog park, Darlington told the newspaper. Hell sit there and hell say, Id like to punch him right in the f**king mouth ... and it has gotten worse and worse and worse.

Paul Gumpert, another friend of Lay, told WTSP-TV in Tampa Bay  that he is also convinced the shooting happened because the victim was a gay man.

Gumpert told WTSP that he had requested a red flag investigation from authorities and expressed his concerns about the publics safety.

In a separate interview with WTVT-TV in Tampa, Darlington said he knew Radford well and received a text message and photo from him the day of the shooting.

According to the the Fox affiliate, the photo showed Radford with apparent injuries to his face and text that said, Im so sorry to tell you, Walt attacked me at the park and I had to defend myself.

Darlington told the Tampa Bay Times the he received the photo before finding out his friend was killed. My first impression was, this looks like youre building an excuse for something that already happened. Little did I know that Walt was already dead.

Darlington told WTVT that I dont buy that Walt attacked anybody and said hed often seen Lay try to stay clear of Radford.

Sabrena Hughes, Lays sister, told WTVT she does not believe her brother was the aggressor, adding that Radford had been harassing Lay for about two years and echoed accounts that her brother tried to avoid him.

One thing he was not was violent and he never, ever would have attacked anyone, Hughes told WTVT of her brother.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, Lays dog, Roxy, will be taken care of by a friend in the area so she can continue to visit her friends at the dog park.