A woman was hospitalized with multiple bites, and deputies say the man they believe fired the shot ran away and may still have the handgun.
LEESBURG, Fla. — What began as a violent dog attack near a homeless camp in Leesburg ended Friday with one man dead, one woman injured and a widening search for the man deputies say pulled a gun and tried to shoot the attacking animal.
Lake County sheriff’s deputies said the man they are seeking, 43-year-old Matthew Lee Pasco, appears to have intervened while a woman was being bitten repeatedly by a dog near Griffin Road and Tally Box Road. But investigators said the shot did not stop with the animal. Instead, it struck the dog’s owner, who later died at a hospital, turning the emergency into a homicide investigation.
Investigators said the woman was under attack when Pasco tried to fire at the dog, apparently to protect her. The owner then stepped into the path between Pasco and the victim, according to deputies, and was shot. Authorities have not publicly explained whether the owner was trying to calm the dog, stop Pasco from firing or do both in the same instant. What is clear from the sheriff’s account is that the owner was rushed to a hospital with gunshot injuries and later died. The woman bitten by the dog was also taken for treatment after suffering several bites. Deputies said the shooting happened near a homeless encampment in the Griffin Road area of Leesburg.
By Friday afternoon, many parts of the case remained unsettled. The dead man’s name had not been released. The woman’s condition had not been detailed beyond the sheriff’s office saying she was receiving treatment. Investigators also had not publicly explained how many people were present when the dog attack began or whether Pasco had any prior connection to the victims. Deputies said he fled the area on foot after the gunfire and may still be carrying the handgun used in the shooting. He was described as about 5-foot-11 and 150 pounds, with brown hair, brown eyes and a scar on the right side of his face.
The aftermath also raised questions about the animals involved. Deputies said animal services responded and took possession of more than one dog. Later official accounts said two dogs were shot and one was killed. That detail added to the complexity of the scene, which combined a violent animal attack, emergency medical care and a manhunt in the same stretch of roadway. The area sits near Carver Middle School, and the school was placed on lockdown as deputies searched nearby woods and streets. Investigators emphasized that the case was not tied to the campus itself, but the lockdown showed how far the public safety response spread once the suspected shooter disappeared.
For detectives, the next steps are likely to focus on sequence and intent. They will need to pin down where Pasco was standing, how the owner moved into the line of fire and whether anyone warned before the shot was fired. Officials had not announced charges Friday afternoon, but the sheriff’s office said the case was being investigated as a homicide. That means detectives must reconstruct not only the shooting, but the moments leading up to it, including the dog attack that triggered the intervention. Witness interviews, medical records and forensic evidence from the scene are expected to shape that timeline.
The unusual chain of events left residents with a scene that felt both sudden and hard to process. A woman under attack, an armed bystander stepping in, an owner moving toward danger and a fatal shot all unfolded within moments, according to the sheriff’s account. Then came the second phase: helicopters overhead, deputies forming a perimeter and a warning that the man they were seeking should not be approached. By late Friday, the immediate crisis for first responders had shifted from treating victims to locating Pasco before the case could move into its next stage.
Authorities said Friday afternoon that Pasco had not been found and the homicide investigation was continuing as deputies searched the Leesburg area for the armed person of interest.
Author note: Last updated April 17, 2026.