Left inset: Todd Stalcup (Hall County Sheriff's Office). Right inset: Terry Loden (Facebook). Background: The park and walking path in Georgia, where Todd Stalcup allegedly shot and killed Terry Loden during a dispute over their dogs fighting (WCNC).
A Georgia grandfather who was walking with his wife and dogs at a park they visit every Sunday afternoon was shot dead this week, along with one of his four-legged best friends, by another dog walker who flew into a rage after their pets "began fighting," cops say.
Todd Stalcup, 52, shot and killed Terry Loden, 70, and his dog Jesse around 3:30 p.m. Sunday after the two crossed paths at Simpson Park in Hall County, according to a police press release. The two men did not know one another.
Loden's wife, Cheryle Loden, described what allegedly unfolded to the local independent television station WANF. The couple had been married for 50 years.
"He was on top of her pulling her off," Cheryle Loden said about Terry Loden and Jesse, while recounting the spat between Jesse and Stalcup's dog. "About that time, the man just shot my dog, and Terry stood up and said, 'Man what are you doing?' And he [Stalcup] just shot him."
Police say Stalcup blasted Jesse first before turning his handgun on Terry, who was shot through his right side. Terry died on his way to the hospital.
"When he fell, I just said, 'I gotta call 911. I gotta call 911.' And [Stalcup] just said, 'Yeah, you do that,'" Cheryle Loden told WANF. "He just looked up at me and said, 'I love you.' He said, 'I'm going.' I said, 'No, you're not,' and I just sat there talking to 911 the whole time."
Cheryle Loden said that after the shooting, Stalcup began pacing around before walking to his SUV and fleeing. "He drove off," she recalled.
Deputies took Stalcup, who lives in Gainesville, into custody roughly 15 minutes after the shooting as he was leaving the park, according to police. He was charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
"He was awesome," Cheryle said about her husband. "He'd give his last penny and do anything for anybody. He was an awesome person."
Stalcup is currently being held without bond.
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