Florida woman who fatally shot a man in Walmart parking lot will not face charges; here’s why

A Florida woman who fatally shot a man during a parking lot dispute will not face charges after prosecutors determined she is protected under the state’s “stand your ground” law. According to a September 3, 2026 news release from the Broward County State Attorney’s Office, Melissa Payne will not be prosecuted for the June 30, 2026 shooting of Bart DiGuglielmo at a Walmart in North Lauderdale, Florida.

The state attorney noted that Florida's "stand your ground" statute permits individuals to deploy lethal force in self-defense. Authorities initially detained Payne following the shooting, but released her after she asserted that she acted to defend herself. A formal immunity memorandum authored by Stephen Zaccor, division chief of the Broward State Attorney’s Office homicide trial unit, stated that Payne "had the right to stand her ground if she was in reasonable fear of death or great bodily harm."

Under Florida law, the defendant is not required to establish that her apprehension was reasonable. Instead, the prosecution carries the burden of proving by "clear and convincing evidence" that her fear was unjustified. In this matter, the state could not demonstrate that her "fear of great bodily harm was not reasonable" given DiGuglielmo’s actions.


Surveillance footage and eyewitness testimonies indicate that the 65-year-old man threatened to destroy Payne’s car and initiated the confrontation. He aggressively pursued Payne even after she retreated and subsequently unholstered her firearm. Payne also had an infant inside her vehicle throughout the encounter.

The memorandum described the circumstances surrounding the incident as "as tragic as they are absurd," adding that "there is relatively no dispute about what actually happened because the entire incident was captured by various video recording devices."

Video Evidence Details

Surveillance video indicates that Payne was driving a white Chevrolet Malibu through the parking lot around 12:19 PM alongside her niece and her niece’s infant daughter, as reported by PEOPLE. DiGuglielmo was operating a white Kia SUV without any passengers.

Both drivers were apparently attempting to pull into the same parking space, leading to a brief standoff where both briefly exited their vehicles. DiGuglielmo then left his SUV idling in the driving lane, retrieved a shopping cart, and walked into the store. In the interim, Payne parked her car in the space.

Roughly 90 seconds later, DiGuglielmo returned to his vehicle and was heard threatening to damage Payne’s property. He got back into his SUV and drove off "at a high rate of speed," according to the memo. He then parked in a nearby designated handicap spot and walked back toward Payne, who remained inside her car with the infant.

He paused briefly under a tree to smoke a cigarette. The memo noted that bystanders described him as shaking and "visibly angry."

DiGuglielmo then advanced toward Payne, who stepped out of her car holding a smartphone in her left hand and a handgun in her right. According to a witness statement cited in the memo, Payne warned him: "If you keep coming up to me, I’m going to f---ing shoot you!"

Witness Accounts and the Shooting

The witness reported that DiGuglielmo kept advancing despite Payne's warning. She reportedly instructed him to step back multiple times. Video recordings show DiGuglielmo initially retreating before resuming his advance toward her. When a vehicle parked adjacent to Payne pulled out, she moved her car into the newly vacated space, but DiGuglielmo continued to move toward her.

At one point, DiGuglielmo approached Payne’s car holding keys in his hand as if intending to key or damage it. As he turned back toward Payne, she fired a single shot, striking him in the abdomen. Payne immediately set her firearm on top of her car and was taken into custody when Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived at the scene.

Payne was on a phone call with her husband at the time; immediately after the shot was fired, he reported that she instructed him to dial 911. DiGuglielmo was transported to Broward General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Medical Examiner’s Office listed the cause of death as a gunshot wound and classified the manner of death as a homicide. Toxicology tests detected sertraline, THC, and amphetamines in his system.

An earlier news release regarding the incident noted that Payne stayed at the scene and fully cooperated with investigators. DiGuglielmo’s daughter, Amanda, previously told Local 10 that her father was a "good man," a military veteran, a former emergency room trauma nurse, and a father of three. She added that no one "deserves to lose their life over a parking spot."