Neighborhood feud explodes into violence

CLEARWATER, Fla. - It was shortly after noon on a hot July 4 afternoon, and when Jim Rector heard the two loud bangs outside his mobile home, he thought little of it.

"Fourth of July firecrackers, you know," he said.  Rector lives in the Riviera Mobile Home Park on U.S. Highway 19 north of Clearwater.  

"Just two booms, multiple booms.  You know, 'boom boom!'  Like that," Rector said.

He didn't realize he had just heard two bullets fired from a .45 caliber pistol.

"I heard doors slamming out on the street.  Opening and shutting.  And I looked out," Rector said.  "I told my wife, 'Betty, my God, half of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Department is here,'" he said.

Pinellas County investigators believe it was a neighborhood feud that boiled over into violence.  And the suspect, 65-year old Bruce Schunk, was a ticking time bomb. 

According to residents, 46-year old Keith Lewandowski and Schunk had been fighting for years.  In some cases, death threats were made, several neighbors said.

"It's a terrible scene," said Pinellas county sheriff Bob Gualtieri.

Lewandowski was shot at point-blank range, according to investigators.  His wife saw it happen.

"She watched her husband get shot in the face by somebody they've had problems with the last four years," Gualtieri said. 

The sheriff described how Schunk entered Lewandowski's home and pointed the gun at his wife Sandra.  Lewandowski then got up and stepped in between the handgun and his wife.  Schunk then pulled the trigger, investigators said.

Schunk had been drinking heavily, according to investigators.  He was taken into custody after deputies arrested him at his mobile home, which is right across the street from the victim's residence.

One neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said he heard noise at Lewandowski's home, and stopped by to see what was happening.  That's when he heard the gunshots, and saw the victim's wife.

"She had blood all over her," he said.

Residents familiar with both men said while they were horrified about the deadly shooting, it wasn't unexpected.

"To be very honest, it was no surprise because they seem to have had a running hassle back and forth with each other," Rector said.

Gualtieri said Pinellas sheriff's deputies responded to incidents involving Lewandowski nine times since 2008.  

Investigators said they recovered the .45 caliber handgun they believe is the murder weapon.  Schunk is charged with one count of homicide.