Matthew Hanson, a 39-year-old father of four from Port Charlotte, Florida, was shot and killed outside his home on Corrine Avenue on July 5, 2023. The family had just returned from a Fourth of July camping trip in Georgia and Hanson was unloading a trailer when a dispute with a neighbor, James Andrew Gainvors, escalated after a firework misfired and landed in the neighbor’s yard. Hanson’s children were in the car during the incident. Witnesses, including Hanson’s partner Anjelica Romero and the mother of his other children, Amber Zapf, said Gainvors got out of his vehicle, brandished a firearm and a shot was fired; Romero described trying to apply pressure to Hanson’s wound as he sat in a chair, but he later died. The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office identified Gainvors as the suspect; he was cooperative during the investigation and was arrested on July 19, 2023 and taken to the Charlotte County Jail.

The shooting has deeply affected Hanson’s family and the Port Charlotte community, which held a vigil on July 7 to mourn him. Hanson is remembered by those who knew him as a loving father, brother, son and mentor. Does anyone who lived nearby in July 2023 have additional information about what happened that night?