Man arrested after shooting brother in Plantation, police say

PLANTATION, Fla. — A man was arrested over the weekend after he shot his own brother in Plantation, police said.

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According to Plantation police, the shooting was reported Saturday afternoon at an apartment complex in the 4200 block of Northwest Fifth Street.

Police said officers arrived at the scene and found the victim, whose identity was redacted from the suspect’s arrest report, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

“Witnesses at the scene immediately identified the suspected shooter, who was safely taken into custody by responding officers without incident,” the PPD said in a news release.

Police confirmed that the victim was transported by Plantation Fire Rescue medics to Broward Health Medical Center, where he was being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

According to police, detectives discovered that two brothers had gotten into an argument when one of the brothers, Eric Zavala, 29, shot the other in the left hand and left upper leg while they were on the rear patio of their apartment unit.

Police said Zavala returned to the scene as they were tending to his brother.

According to his arrest report, Zavala admitted to police that his brother was sitting on the back patio when he went over to confront him about a new lighter that was now missing.

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Zavala said his brother denied having the lighter, but he then noticed it on the patio, authorities said.

According to the report, Zavala said the argument escalated and his brother threatened to shoot him.

He said both he and his brother reached for the gun that was laying on a nearby grill and a struggle ensued for the gun before a shot was fired, striking his brother in the hand and leg, the report stated.

According to the report, he said he gave the gun to a woman who also lives at the apartment before going for a walk to calm down.

Zavala was arrested on a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

As of Monday morning, he was being held at the Broward County Main Jail on a $10,000 bond.

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