A customer angry about the service he received while his vehicle was being repaired literally lost his life over it. The Miami Herald reports that a customer and the owner of a Florida auto shop have both been killed after a shootout regarding bad vehicle service that was performed over two years ago.
Everything started in 2021. Eugene Frank Becker, 78, went to Stout’s Automotive in Largo, Florida to get his vehicle repaired. But according to police, he wasn’t satisfied with the work that was done, which he felt “was inadequate, and he believed he was overcharged.” Weirdly, he never returned to Stout’s to complain about the work. That all changed on September 18, 2023.
Becker was involved in a car accident that injured him and left his vehicle totaled. His family said he became “angrier, frustrated and depressed” in the days following the accident. It must’ve brought back memories of the service he wasn’t pleased with at Stout’s from two years before. Police say Becker rented a vehicle and drove to Stout’s on September 27. Once there, authorities say he went looking for the owner, Jody Stout.
Upon confirming that he was speaking with the owner, Becker produced a firearm and discharged the firearm in Stout’s direction. Stout retrieved his own firearm and returned fire in Becker’s direction. The two exchanged multiple rounds of gunfire, during which time both Becker and Stout suffered life-threatening injuries.
Both men were transported to local hospitals, where they died from their injuries. Authorities say that it appears that Becker had the intention of shooting Stout over his dissatisfaction with the vehicle service he received back in 2021:
Based on the totality of the circumstances, it appears as though Becker responded to Stout’s Automotive with the intent to shoot the victim in retaliation for the perceived wrong from 2021.