Man Shoots Friend In Argument Over Beer Near New Orleans: Police

NEW ORLEANS, March 13 (Reuters) - An argument between a 64-year-old man who wanted a Budweiser beer and his friend who handed him a can of Busch instead ended when the disgruntled recipient shot the other man in the arm, wounding him in a Louisiana parking lot, police said on Friday.

The incident, which occurred on March 7 in the New Orleans suburb of Harvey, resulted in Clarence Sturdivant shooting his neighbor Walter Merrick, 66, in the arm, with Merrick sustaining wounds that were not life-threatening, said Colonel John Fortunato, spokesman for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office.

Witnesses told police that the incident, which began with Sturdivant and Merrick arguing over the respective merits of the beer brands, escalated when Merrick pointed a gun at Sturdivant, with the Budweiser adherent then firing a shotgun in self-defense, Fortunato said.

Sturdivant was not charged in the incident but was arrested on an unspecified unrelated charge, Fortunato said, while Merrick was cited for aggravated assault.

Fortunato said police did not recover any weapons. (Reporting by Jonathan Kaminsky; Editing by Eric Beech)