HATBORO, Pa. (TCD) — A 41-year-old barbershop owner faces charges after allegedly fatally shooting his upstairs neighbor after he reportedly called him a racial slur.
According to Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele and Hatboro Police Chief Mark Ruegg, on the evening of Saturday, June 8, officers responded to Razor Reese’s Salon and Spa, where they found 37-year-old Stephen Strassburg in the parking lot with gunshot wounds. Officials transported him to a hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.
A criminal complaint reviewed by WCAU-TV alleges Strassburg sustained at least three gunshots to his head, shoulder, and back.
Investigators learned Strassburg lived above Razor Reese’s Salon and Spa, owned by Maurice Byrd. The two reportedly had an ongoing dispute.
Shortly before officers arrived on scene, Byrd called 911 and allegedly said Strassburg had verbally assaulted him and called him a racial slur. According to Steele and Ruegg, the dispatcher heard several gunshots, followed by a pause, and then two more gunshots.
The criminal complaint obtained by WCAU alleges while on the phone with the dispatcher, “Strassburg can be heard saying, ‘What are you going to do, you going to shoot me?'” and added the racial expletive.
Following the shooting, Byrd reportedly said, “I just had to shoot him.” When asked if he hit him, Byrd allegedly told the dispatcher, “Yes, I did.”
At the scene, officers recovered seven spent cartridge casings and a handgun registered to Byrd, who has a permit to carry. Officials allege Strassburg didn’t have a weapon during the incident.
Byrd faces charges of first-degree murder, third-degree murder, and possessing an instrument of crime.
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