1 dead, suspect in custody following Arcadia shooting

ARCADIA, Fla. A man was killed by his next-door neighbor Sunday night at an apartment complex on Hargrave Street, Arcadia police said.

Quincy Lamar Gilchrist, 24, was arrested and taken to DeSoto County jail, according to police. The shooting took place at about 8:40 p.m. at Gilchrist’s home in the Jacaranda Trails Apartments on 1650 Hargrave St., police said.

Police found the body of Caleb Williams, 26, outside the apartment.

Gilchrist’s mother told police that Gilchrist called her and said a “white guy had charged him and he did what he had to do,” a police report stated. Williams was white.

Witness Billy Thomas, a neighbor, contradicted that.

“(Gilchrist) had the gun pointed at me; that’s when Caleb came by,” Thomas said. “He (took) the gun off me and pointed it toward Caleb. Caleb said, ‘Man, what is your problem?’ and he shot him.”

Gilchrist is facing a murder charge, as well as a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill. Police didn’t specify the degree of the murder charge.

His bond is set at $350,000.

“Despite the heroic efforts of the DeSoto County Fire Rescue and the staff at DeSoto Memorial Hospital, the victim succumbed to his injuries,” City Marshal Matt Anderson said in an Arcadia Police Department Facebook post.