Horry County police charge 71-year-old with attempted murder

Horry County police charged a 71-year-old man with attempted murder after he attempted to fire a gun at his neighbor.

Jerzy Zylka, of Myrtle Beach, was charged Thursday with attempted murder, burglary and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. He was released on a $10,000 bond Friday, according to jail records.

Officers responded to a Myrtle Beach residence around 4:30 p.m. Thursday in reference to an assault, according to the police report. A male victim told police his neighbor, Zylka, came in through his unlocked door “unannounced, uninvited and unwanted,” the report said.

The suspect started arguing with the victim about “negative things” the victim said about the suspect’s wife. The victim asked the suspect to leave when Zylka pulled out a gun and aimed it at the victim, the report said.

The suspect fired the gun at the victim several times but it did not fire correctly, police said. The victim then tried to take the gun away from the suspect when Zylka hit the victim over the head with the weapon.

The suspect then ran out of the house and the victim was helped into a chair by his wife, who then called police, the report said.

The victim told police he had previous issues with Zylka coming to his house and arguing that “victims were talking about him and his wife to other people in the neighborhood,” the report said.

Zylka told officers he went to his neighbors home but refused to talk about the incident after that, the report said. The suspect showed police his handgun – which was locked in a safe at his home – and it matched the victim’s description of the gun, police said.

The suspect was transported to J. Reuben Detention Center without incident, police said.

This story was originally published October 19, 2015 at 4:38 PM with the headline "Horry County police charge 71-year-old with attempted murder."