Inset: Patrick McBride (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The gated Arizona community where Patrick McBride allegedly shot a door-to-door salesman (KSAZ/YouTube).
An 80-year-old Arizona resident allegedly pursued a door-to-door salesman after the man arrived on a Segway and asked for water. Authorities say Patrick McBride shot the salesman in the back, leaving him without sensation in his legs.
McBride has been charged with aggravated assault causing serious physical injury and disorderly conduct with a weapon after Sunday’s shooting in his gated community in north Scottsdale.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, the unidentified salesman was riding an electric Segway scooter while canvassing the neighborhood for window-washing customers. He stopped at McBride’s residence and asked for water.
The affidavit, which recounts McBride’s account to police, says the salesman rang the gate’s doorbell and explained that he had been working nearby. McBride allegedly questioned the man’s explanation and became suspicious about his presence in the private community.
McBride told investigators that he warned the salesman he was not allowed inside the neighborhood. As the man rode away, McBride said he noticed the cellphone being pointed toward the home, leading him to suspect the salesman was photographing or recording him.
“This did not sit well with the defendant,” the affidavit states.
The salesman later told officers he stayed in the area because he thought he had misplaced his wallet and wanted to search for it. Roughly 10 minutes later, McBride and his wife allegedly “devised a plan to make sure this male had left the neighborhood,” according to the affidavit.
The document alleges that McBride retrieved a handgun from a safe because he “typically will not go out without it.” He reportedly placed the weapon in a holster on the left side of his pants, consistent with being left-handed. His wife drove the vehicle and did not take a firearm.
Under the alleged plan, McBride’s wife would drive north to check that part of the community while McBride walked south looking for the salesman. If she found the Segway, she was supposed to contact him, the affidavit says.
The salesman was eventually located, and McBride allegedly shouted at him to leave. McBride told police that the man then rode in his direction, appearing to pick up speed while raising the cellphone in his right hand.
McBride said he feared the salesman was about to do something threatening. According to the affidavit, he drew his handgun while moving to the left.
McBride told investigators that he and the salesman collided as the man approached, causing the pistol to fire unexpectedly. He said the victim fell to the ground and that he initially did not realize the man had been shot, the affidavit states.
The salesman offered police a different version of events. He said he saw McBride draw the handgun as he was turning away, then allegedly fire and strike him in the back.
McBride acknowledged retrieving the spent casing and putting it in his pocket, saying he wanted to “preserve evidence” and keep it from being run over. He also told police he was afraid the salesman might act, but insisted he never consciously chose to fire and did not intend to shoot him, according to the affidavit.
The salesman was rushed to a hospital, where he remained in stable condition with a spinal injury. “[The victim] cannot feel his legs,” the affidavit says.
McBride remained at the scene and his wife used towels to apply pressure to the victim’s wound before paramedics arrived. Officers showed up and spoke to McBride, who told them, “He shouldn’t be in this neighborhood” and “He made a move at me, I told him to leave,” according to the affidavit.
Investigators later found McBride’s handgun with a cracked, partially broken trigger guard. He also had a shell casing in his pocket.
McBride, who attended the U.S. Air Force Academy — where he had handgun and rifle training — insisted he shot the salesman in self-defense when speaking to police. McBride was being held this week on a $150,000 bond.
The post ‘He asked for water’: 80-year-old man shot door-to-door salesman riding Segway after hunting him down with pistol holstered on his hip, cops say first appeared on Law & Crime.
