Gerald Radford: Man arrested for fatal shooting in Tampa dog park ‘hated’ victim for being gay

TAMPA, FLORIDA: The man who shot and killed a gay man at a dog park in early February in Florida while claiming to have acted in self-defense, has been taken into custody and charged with murder.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office confirmed that on February 2, at the West Dog Park in Tampa, Florida, Gerald Declan Radford, 65, shot and killed John Walter Lay, 52.

Gerald Radford faces charges of second-degree murder

Radford is currently facing charges of second-degree murder with a hate crime enhancement, more than a month after the shooting.

Although Lay's friends had previously told PEOPLE that they thought Radford, who they claimed harassed Lay for more than two years, targeted him in part because of his sexuality, Radford initially claimed self-defense in the shooting and was not immediately charged.

Samantha Hitchcock, Lay's friend stated that she frequently heard Radford, who also frequented parks, hurl homophobic insults at her and Lay, but Lay never started a fight with Radford.

“Walt never instigated anything at all,” Hitchcock told PEOPLE. “He always walked away. He would say, 'Leave me alone.' He was just that type of person.”

According to another friend, Kim Wolfley, Lay, whom friends called Walt, sent over a video a day before he passed away. In it, he talks about an allegedly unsettling encounter he had that morning with Radford.

“So this morning while I’m walking, we’re the only two here, and he comes up to me and screams at me, ‘You’re going to die, you’re going to die,’ and I asked him to just leave me alone, and so far he has,” Lay says in the video, which Wolfley didn't see until after Lay was killed the following day.

"This to me sounds like it was premeditated," Wolfley told PEOPLE. "It just floored me when I saw the video."

John Lay's friends express relief on Gerald Radford's arrest

Radford's arrest was announced by Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister in a statement on Friday, March 8.

"After analyzing the evidence, it was clear that this man acted from hatred within his heart," Chronister said.

"A hatred that will not be tolerated within our strong and diverse community."

Radford's ticket to the Orient Road Jail will be issued. He said he didn't have an attorney to speak on his behalf and declined to comment.

Hillsborough State Attorney Suzy Lopez's office decided to charge Radford with second-degree murder and a hate crime enhancement after examining the evidence that the HCSO presented this week.

"This is absolutely senseless," Lopez told FOX 13. "He deserved to be able to go and enjoy that dog park in peace, just like every citizen of Hillsborough County deserves that."

Lopez further added, "We're absolutely heartbroken, and we're even more heartbroken because of the fact that this crime appears to have really resulted because of the hatred that this defendant had for this victim and very specifically because of the fact that the victim was gay."

Lopez, speaking with FOX 13 about the case, added, "Mr Radford was the aggressor in this situation and there had been a bad beef going on for a long time."

Lay's friends are relieved that an arrest was made more than two months after his passing.

"We're thankful for the thorough investigation and are excited we will hopefully see justice for Walt," friends and family of Lay said in a statement on Friday.