1 man dead, other claims self-defense, authorities say

A love triangle that had been ongoing for months erupted in a fight involving brass knuckles and a gun in Eustis on Wednesday morning, leaving one man dead and the other claiming self defense, according to authorities.

The two men, who had been in a “dispute over a woman,” got into a fight around 7 a.m. at the Devonshire Apartments, near U.S. Highway 19 and Lake Eustis. Both of the men, as well as the woman, lived in the same apartment complex.

According to a Eustis Police Chief Craig Capri, the incident began when Eddie Alexis Vazquez Muniz, 47, put his two kids — who are 5 and 8 years of age — in his car. Muniz then set up a tripod with a video camera outside the other man’s apartment and waited for the man to come out. When the man did, Muniz “attacked him,” the chief said in a press conference.

Muniz “chased” the other man around the apartment complex and struck him in the head “several times” with what appeared to be a pair of brass knuckles that police later found at the scene.

The man “became dazed and confused,” Capri said at the press conference. He turned around and saw Muniz reach in his waistband “like he was going to pull out a weapon.” The man pulled out his gun and shot Muniz several times.

When officers arrived on scene, they found Muniz lying on the ground with three gunshot wounds, an incident report said. Muniz was taken to a hospital where he later died.

“It appears at this time [that] it was a self-defense situation so there might not be any charges coming,” Capri said, adding that the man was cooperative with police and has been released. Capri said man’s statements were corroborated by other evidence, including several people who saw the man being chased by Muniz.

Capri did not release the man’s name.

“Hey … I just shot someone,” the man said to a 911 operator, according to a call released Wednesday afternoon by the police department. “They were trying to attack me. Can you come?”

After telling giving the address to the operator, he said, “I need an ambulance and a police officer.”

“I shot him… I still have the firearm on me,” the man said a few seconds before the call ended.

The chief said the case is still being investigated and that they are working to unlock Muniz’s phone so they can see any videos that were recorded Wednesday morning. He added that police were not aware of the “tension” between the two men and that there were no recent calls for service involving any of the people in the love triangle.

“I’m just glad that the two young kids didn’t have to witness any of this,” the chief said. “This is a senseless act … again, over a woman. I mean, really. This is ridiculous.”