Argument over cows in the garden sparked fatal shooting, Harris County sheriff says
A Harris County man was shot and killed following a dispute with his sister about cows getting out of a fenced area and into a garden, witnesses told the county’s sheriff.
George “Bick” Bickerstaff, 60, was shot Friday night in the Mulberry Grove Road area, Harris County Sheriff Mike Jolley said Monday. Bickerstaff died Sunday morning at Piedmont Columbus Regional hospital.
Witnesses told authorities that Bickerstaff and his sister were arguing when he fired a shot in an unspecified direction. After that, his sister’s boyfriend got out of a vehicle and returned fire, which hit Bickerstaff in the head.
“(The) cows getting out of a fenced area and into a garden area,” Jolley said. “They were having a verbal disagreement over that.”
No charges have been filed. Authorities did not release the name of the alleged shooter.
Bickerstaff’s body has been taken to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s crime lab for an autopsy, Jolley said.
“There’s not much we can say other than the fact that it was a family disagreement that went bad,” Jolley said. “It was a tragedy. At this point, we’re not sure how it’s going to pan out.”