A convicted felon began attacking a turtle nest in Florida, which led volunteers to attempt to stop the man. One of the volunteers was shot with his own gun. File Photo by mariakraynova / Shutterstock

LAUDERDALE-BY-THE-SEA, Fla., July 19 (UPI) -- After a man began shouting profanities and attacking a sea turtle nest at a Florida beach Friday night, two volunteers stepped in to stop him. One of the volunteers was shot for his efforts.

Stan Pannaman, 72, was shot in his left hip at about 11 p.m. near a turtle's nest on a Lauderdale-by-the-Sea beach while attempting to save baby sea turtles with fellow volunteer Doug Young.


"There was a man sitting on a bench at the entrance of the beach who was giving off profanity," Young, 64, president of the South Florida Audubon Society, said. "He got up and went toward one of the nests and very aggressively started pulling the stakes out."

"He was yelling that he hated turtles and the people who try to save them," Pannaman said.

Pannaman, a Vietnam War veteran, was released from the hospital on Sunday.

Michael Q. McAuliffe, 38, is jailed without bond on two charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and battery on a person 65 or older, according to the Sun Sentinel.

During the incident, Pannaman pulled out his gun to warn McAuliffe, a convicted felon, that it is a felony to disrupt a sea turtle nest -- in an attempt to de-escalate the situation.

"He complied, and I put my gun away... then he attacked me and took my gun," Pannaman added.