William C. Duncan, 43, died on March 12, 2018, after being shot during a violent altercation at Bliss Enterprises of Plant City, Inc., on E. Knights Griffin Road in Plant City, Florida. The shooting occurred around 4 p.m. during a heated argument between business owner Richard Paul Bliss and Duncan and another man. Bliss pulled a gun and shot both men. A relative of the two men, waiting outside, heard the shots, ran into the office, and shot Bliss. Bliss was pronounced dead at the scene; Duncan was taken to Lakeland Regional Hospital and died that night.

Investigators from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office because of the property’s proximity to the county line, interviewed witnesses and collected evidence. The dispute stemmed from an ongoing conflict in which Bliss had repeatedly demanded that the men vacate the property. The relative who shot Bliss was cooperating with authorities and being interviewed to determine whether the shooting was self-defense or justified under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law; the state attorney would decide whether to bring charges.

Richard Bliss had prior arrests for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, domestic violence, battery, and assault, a fact investigators noted while reconstructing events. Friends and family remembered Duncan as kind and generous. Does anyone have information about the weeks of escalating dispute at Bliss Enterprises or what led up to the confrontation?