Odd News

Refused a kiss, 92-year-old woman fires gun

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-03-25 16:25

The booking mugshot of 92-year-old Helen Staudinger is seen in this handout released March 23, 2011. The central Florida woman fired a semi-automatic pistol four times at her 53-year-old neighbor's house after he refused to kiss her, police said on Tuesday.[Photo/Agencies]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla - Helen Staudinger, 92, wanted a kiss.

But authorities say after her 53-year-old neighbor refused, the central Florida woman aimed a semi-automatic pistol at his house and fired four times.

"If my head would have been over just a little bit further, (a bullet) probably would have hit me in the back of the head," the neighbor, Dwight Bettner, told Reuters.

Staudinger remained in jail on Tuesday, a day after being arrested on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and shooting into a dwelling. Her next court date is April 26.

The incident occurred in Fort McCoy, Florida, about 20 miles northeast of Ocala.

Bettner, a former law enforcement officer and boilermaker, said his elderly neighbor has seemed attracted to him since he moved in six months ago. He's not sure why.

"I've taken her trash out for her, just neighborly stuff," Bettner said. "I guess she just took that as something else."

On Monday, Bettner argued with Staudinger when she came to his house and refused to leave, according to an incident report.

She asked him for a kiss. He refused and she left.

Bettner was on the phone with his father when he heard gunshots moments later. One bullet went through a window, spraying him with glass.