A 78-year-old man has been arrested after shooting a man trimming trees for his neighbor in Florida

A Florida man accused of shooting a man who was trimming trees along his mother’s property line has been arrested on murder charges, authorities said Monday.

Edward S. threatened Drozolowski, 78, shot Brian J. Ford, 42, who he said was on his property Sunday in Dillion Springs, Florida, while he was “trimming tree limbs along the fence line,” Volusia Sheriff’s Office This came in a statement published on social media.

“Drozolowsky told investigators that he threatened to shoot Ford, and when Ford did not leave, he shot him,” the statement read.

The sheriff’s office said Ford died at the scene.

Officials said deputies responded to two 911 calls reporting the shooting around 7:15 p.m. Sunday, according to an arrest affidavit obtained Monday.

“One of the emergency calls came from the shooter’s wife, who stated that her husband went out to scare the neighbor with a gun and shot him,” the affidavit said. “The caller further stated that her husband did not mean to do this, but only meant to intimidate him.”

Drozolowski told the Volusia deputy in a recorded interview that he retrieved a .357 Magnum handgun and confronted Ford after his wife told him Ford was on his property and the gate was open, the affidavit said.

Drozolowski told officials that when he asked Ford to get off his property, Ford told him to mind his own business and cursed, the affidavit said.

Ford also asked Drozolowski if he was going to shoot him, the affidavit said. Drozolowski said he warned Ford to stop walking toward him or he would shoot, the document states.

Drozolowski also told the deputy he feared for his life, but admitted Ford did not threaten him, the affidavit said.

Drozolowski was appointed public defender, but a specific attorney had not been appointed for the case as of Monday afternoon, the 7th Judicial Circuit Public Defender’s Office said.

Brian Ford’s mother, Linda Ford, 76, said her 8-year-old grandson witnessed the fatal shooting while standing next to his father.

“The neighbor came out and told me to get out of my yard and shot him at close range,” Ford said.

She said her grandson told her the suspect “put the gun directly to his heart and pulled the trigger.”

She said her son was helping her cut tree branches that were falling and breaking a chain-link fence near her property line.

Ford said her son has never set foot on her neighbor’s land because it is against the law to put up a fence directly along the property line. Alternatively, a fence could be placed two feet from the property line, she said.

Ford said her grandson was hysterical after the shooting. She said the neighbor allegedly pointed the gun at the child after she shot and killed her son.

“My little grandson was rambunctious in there. He wanted to be with his father, he wanted to sleep with his father,” she said. “I wanted to bring him into the house for safety reasons.”

Ford said her son worked as a handyman, doing all the odd jobs that needed to be done to support his family. He had three sons, 20, 18 and 8 years old.

“It was great,” she said. “He was great for his kids. He was great for me all the time. He was on hand. He would help anyone at any time. He would give up everything.”

“His children were his world, and now they don’t have a father,” Ford continued.

Ford said she called 911 after hearing gunfire.

Drozolowski was booked into the Volusia County Jail and held without bail Monday night, according to jail records. Earlier Monday, he made his first appearance in court and was ordered not to possess any weapons, court records state.

DeLeon Springs is located about 55 miles north of Orlando.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com