LARGO, Fla. — A Largo family is making plans to bury their mother after a dispute with a neighbor reportedly went too far.

  • Accused shooter lived downstairs from Marguerite Williams, 59
  • Suspect told police verbal exchange led to him shooting at Williams, daughter
  • Suspect being held without bond
  • More Pinellas County stories

According to police reports, on May 7 Marguerite Williams, 59, was with her daughter, Chantel Johnson, walking to their apartment at the Whispering Palms apartment complex when they got into a verbal altercation with their downstairs neighbor, Kenneth Prince, 39.

Prince told investigators that the two women "began talking trash," prompting him to draw a handgun from his waistband and fire shots at them as well as another man sitting in his car.

Another resident of complex, Freddie Delgado, said he saw someone yelling and ran to help.

"She was shot in the neck, and then they said her mom was laying down over here,” Delgado told us.

Delgado said he started helping Williams's daughter perform CPR on Williams, but he didn’t know the 59-year-old was shot in the head.

“As far as I know, I know she wasn’t breathing, and we just continued to do chest compressions, while the daughter was doing the mouth-to-mouth part,” he said.

Williams's family said she was on life support for days after the shooting. She eventually passed away Monday night, while her daughter, who was also shot, is still recovering in the hospital. 

"This is the world we live in"

A close family friend we spoke to, Sherrah Hill, said they’re all devastated and still in shock that something like this would ever happen.

“Mom was there for everyone," Hill said. "If you needed a place to stay, if you needed a shoulder to cry on, if you were down on your luck.” 

“It’s not like it’s something she did to cause this," Hill continued. "This is something, a horrible crime that was committed against her and my family, and it’s so devastating that this is the world that we live in."

Police documents show Prince called authorities to complain about the women hours before the shooting, claiming he was being threatened by them.

Other reports, however, show neighbors in the past called police several times and apartment management to complain about Prince. 

After this shooting, Prince reportedly told police he was a marine who had the right to defend himself and that he didn’t need a license to carry a gun. 

Prince is being held without bond. Charges against him have been upgraded since Williams's death to second-degree murder, along with two more counts of attempted first-degree murder.

Williams's family said they cannot imagine returning to live at the apartment complex after the shooting. They've started a GoFundMe campaign to collect donations to help with moving and funeral expenses.

To learn more or to make a donation, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/marguerite-williams.

This Gofundme.com site is not managed by Spectrum Bay News 9. For more information on how the site works and the rules visit  http://www.gofundme.com/safety.