A tragic incident unfolded at a Georgia park, where a beloved grandfather was fatally shot while enjoying a Sunday afternoon stroll with his wife and their dogs. The assailant, another dog walker, allegedly opened fire during a heated altercation that began when their pets started fighting, according to local authorities.

Terry Loden, aged 70, was shot and killed along with his dog, Jesse, at around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday in Simpson Park, Hall County. The suspect, identified as 52-year-old Todd Stalcup, reportedly encountered Loden and his wife, Cheryle, while they were out for their routine promenade, as detailed in a police press release. The two men had no prior acquaintance.

In an interview with the local station WANF, Cheryle Loden recounted the harrowing details of the incident. Married to Terry for 50 years, she vividly described the moments leading up to the shooting. “He was on top of her pulling her off,” she said, referring to her husband trying to separate Jesse from Stalcup’s dog. “About that time, the man just shot my dog, and Terry stood up and said, ‘Man, what are you doing?’ And he [Stalcup] just shot him.”

According to police reports, Stalcup first shot Jesse before turning the gun on Terry, who suffered a fatal wound to his right side. Tragically, Terry succumbed to his injuries en route to the hospital.

Cheryle described the heart-wrenching moments that followed. “When he fell, I just said, ‘I gotta call 911. I gotta call 911.’ And [Stalcup] just said, ‘Yeah, you do that,’” she recounted to WANF. Even in his final moments, Terry expressed his love, saying, “I love you,” to Cheryle before he passed away. She stayed by his side, speaking to emergency services until the end.

“When he fell, I just said, ‘I gotta call 911. I gotta call 911.’ And [Stalcup] just said, ‘Yeah, you do that,’” Cheryle Loden told WANF. “He just looked up at me and said, ‘I love you.’ He said, ‘I’m going.’ I said, ‘No, you’re not,’ and I just sat there talking to 911 the whole time.”

Cheryle Loden said that after the shooting, Stalcup began pacing around before walking to his SUV and fleeing. “He drove off,” she recalled.

Deputies took Stalcup, who lives in Gainesville, into custody roughly 15 minutes after the shooting as he was leaving the park, according to police. He was charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

“He was awesome,” Cheryle said about her husband. “He’d give his last penny and do anything for anybody. He was an awesome person.”

Stalcup is currently being held without bond.