Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Scott Warren Hanna, aged 59, was taken into custody yesterday for allegedly firing an airsoft pistol at a homeless individual and deliberately reversing his vehicle toward the same individual at Millhopper Plaza.
At around 8:25 p.m. on May 27, a Gainesville Police Department officer arrived at the scene near the Gainesville Smoke and Cigar Shop located at Millhopper Plaza (4211 NW 16th Boulevard). The victim recounted that a man had verbally assaulted him due to his homeless status. As the conflict escalated, the man retrieved a pistol from his truck, yelled at the victim, aimed, and discharged about eight shots. Luckily, none of the shots struck the victim.
According to the victim, the man then returned to his truck and seemed ready to drive off. However, when the victim attempted to photograph the truck’s license plate, the man quickly reversed the truck toward him, forcing the victim to jump aside to avoid being hit. The man subsequently drove away from the location.
A witness told the officer that she saw the altercation and took a video with her phone; she said she saw the man shoot at the victim after yelling at him, and she ran inside a business, yelling, “He’s shooting!” She said it looked like the man had a real gun.
A second witness also said she saw a man shooting at the victim and saw the same man intentionally back up rapidly and almost hit the victim. She described the vehicle as a silver pickup truck with a “Mossy Oak” window graphic on the back window.
The officer reviewed surveillance video from Gainesville Smoke and Cigar Shop and reported that the man’s face could be seen clearly on the video, and the witness’s video showed the same man standing in front of that business, yelling at the victim and holding a gun. The surveillance video shows the man firing the gun multiple times before getting into a silver pickup truck that looks like a GMC Canyon. The victim said he is familiar with the man, who often patronizes the businesses in the plaza.
The officer searched law enforcement databases for vehicles matching the description and found a silver GMC Canyon with an address about a mile away from the plaza. The officer went to the address and found the truck, which had a “Real Tree” graphic on the back window (similar to the “Mossy Oak” graphic). The officer reported that the registered owner of the truck was the same man in the videos of the incident and that a black semi-automatic pistol was in plain view between the driver’s seat and the center console.
The officer spoke with Hanna, and post Miranda, Hanna reportedly said he was “maybe” at the plaza and “maybe” got into an argument with a “homeless mother******.” He said the gun is not a real gun and does not shoot real bullets.
The officer reported that the pistol was a gas-powered pistol that shoots 50 Cal metal balls capable of causing serious bodily injury.
Hanna has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He has no criminal convictions; Judge Meshon Rawls ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold him without bail until trial.
Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
