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Report: Neighborhood dispute over feeding squirrels leads to shooting

A dispute over feeding squirrels turned violent after a Boulder man was shot by his neighbor. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

GUNBARREL, Colo. — A man is facing attempted murder and assault charges after he shot his neighbor in the buttocks after a dispute over feeding squirrels in the neighborhood, according to the Boulder Daily Camera.

Boulder County sheriff's deputies responded shortly after 3:30 p.m. Thursday to a home in Gunbarrel after receiving a report of a neighborhood dispute that ended in a shooting.

They found a 46-year-old man, who they did not identify, with a gunshot wound to his buttocks. Medics took him to a local hospital to get treatment for the non-life-threatening injury. He was last listed in stable condition, according to the Boulder County Sheriff's Office.

On Friday, authorities booked 59-year-old Jon Marc Barbour, of Boulder, into Boulder County Jail on charges of second-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault.

The confrontation was sparked Thursday by an argument over Barbour's habit of feeding shelled peanuts to neighborhood squirrels, the Daily Camera reported, citing an arrest report.

According to the newspaper, Barbour and his wife put up fliers in the neighborhood explaining why he and his wife fed the squirrels but the victim, identified in police reports as Jeffrey Browning, took them down.

“Barbour and Browning got into an argument over the fliers Thursday while Browning was walking his dog, with each man accusing the other of being 'white trash,'” the Daily Camera reported.

Barbour claimed Browning escalated the argument and struck him in the head. He told deputies he shot Browning during the ensuing struggle. Browning, however, told authorities he was walking away from Barbour when his neighbor fired the shot.

Records from Boulder County Jail show Barbour was released on a $50,000 bond Friday.

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