REDDICK – The man who shot and killed another man last Friday said Thursday that his action was in self-defense and that he wished it had never come to him pulling the trigger.

Harrell S. Jeffries, 56, said he was asleep in his camper when William H. Markham barged in and beat him with a stick. Jeffries, whose camper is close to a wooded area off a narrow dirt road and is surrounded by other residences in rural Marion County, said he managed to grab a gun and fired shots at the 48-year-old man.

“I was protecting myself,” said Jeffries on Thursday, standing next to a pickup truck just yards from his camper. His left hand was bandaged from his elbow to his fingers and Jeffries said it is broken. His head had staples in it and he said his ribs were still sore from the blows from the stick.

Asked how many times he shot at the deceased, Jeffries said “I don’t know.”

“I tried to protect myself from dying,” he added.

Jeffries said he Markham were just “acquaintances,” then declined to answer any additional questions.

On July 28, Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called at 1:30 p.m. about a shooting in the 16000 block of Northwest Gainesville Road in Reddick. They were told that two individuals were involved in a physical altercation and one person was shot and the other was badly beaten.

Both men were transported to UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville, where Markham died. Officials said Jeffries was released later that day.

Markham’s family said Thursday that the dispute was over a woman, who both men were seeing.

William Markham Sr. said Jeffries used to work for his son and that his son would give Jeffries money to help him.

Jo Ann Markham said her son was “a good guy and everyone who knew him liked him. He was always trying to help someone. That was the type of guy he was,” she said.

She said he loved to hunt and fish and help take care of their 180-acre property in Reddick. He lived on the property with his parents and had a teenage son.

“He and I were partners. We hunt and fish together. I lost my son and my best friend,” his mother said. “He always told me that he loved me. We were very close.”

The couple said their son’s funeral is set for Aug. 12 at Hiers-Baxley Funeral Home on East Silver Springs Boulevard, with the viewing at 10 a.m. and the service at 11 a.m.

The case is in the hands of the State Attorney’s Office for review. The Markhams said they want to wait until the investigation is concluded before saying too much more.

Contact Austin L. Miller at 867-4118, austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb.