"I just blew up:" Hubert Smith charged, accused of shooting two neighbors after a feud



WAUKESHA COUNTY -- 76-year-old Hubert Smith, the man who allegedly shot and wounded two of his neighbors after a feud, was charged on Tuesday, October 27th with three counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide. This, in the wake of the shooting incident that happened on Edwards Street near Greenfield Avenue in Brookfield on Sunday afternoon.

Smith allegedly told police the shooting was a result of "blind rage." He's accused of firing his revolver at three neighbors -- hitting and injuring two of them.

Hubert Smith



Smith appeared in Waukesha County intake court on Tuesday afternoon. A judge set his bail at $500,000.

According to police, three neighbors were talking in a backyard Sunday and got into a dispute with a fourth neighbor, later identified as Smith. During the dispute, Smith went into his home and returned with a weapon and began to shoot. He struck two of his neighbors.

Smith told police he believed his neighbors were taunting him.

The criminal complaint indicates Smith himself was the person who called police to report he had shot his neighbor. Smith told officers at the time he wasn't sure if his neighbor was alive.

Police say Smith fired five rounds from a revolver at the three victims/witnesses and three of the rounds struck two of the victims.  One of the victims, a 50-year-old man was shot twice. A 51-year-old man was shot once.

Investigators questioned Smith about what happened -- and according to the criminal complaint, Smith told them his neighbors were bullies.

"I really should have used restraint. I couldn't take it anymore. I just blew up," Smith told police. Smith went on to say, "After all those years, I couldn't take it anymore. Today was the day."

This wasn't the first time Smith quarreled with his neighbors, and according to the complaint, this time, one of them said something that sent him into a blind rage. That neighbor, according to Smith, told him: "I (expletive) your mother."

Smith told police his mother passed away several years ago, and he missed her very much.

When police spoke with Smith in the wake of the shooting, they asked him what he thought was going to happen next. Smith admitted, "Well, I shot somebody with my gun."

"I think he's dangerous. I think the incident speaks for itself," prosecutor Kevin Osborne said as Smith made his initial appearance in court on Tuesday.

"He's 76 years old. Always law abiding. Never had problems at all until the last couple of years," Smith's attorney Jerome Buting said in court. "It's unfortunate it happened, but what happened was very unfortunate too for everybody."

Shooting in Brookfield



One of the victims in this case has been released from the hospital. The other victim remains hospitalized with a head injury. Both are expected to survive.

Smith is expected back in court for his preliminary hearing on Friday, November 6th.

FOX6 News has learned Smith was arrested three years ago, accused of going after a county bus driver who parked without using hazard lights.