Dispute over parking spot results in shooting, child nearly shot

SOUTH BEND, Ind - A dispute over parking nearly turned deadly in South Bend. 

Police were called to the Countryside Village Mobile Home Park on Tuesday on reports of shots fired. 

Investigators say a woman shot into the vehicle of her neighbor whose son was sitting in the car.

The Dempsey family alleges this parking issue has been going on since they moved here in august.

They say their neighbor has been slowly inching her car over to their parking space until the issue came to a head Tuesday.

Bullet holes were left in the aftermath of a fight between neighbors over parking spaces. 

It all happened while Stephen Dempsey was about to take his 9-yrear-old son to school. 

Dempsey and his neighbor, Tiffany Dobrzynski, got into a shouting match outside their homes. Which escalated when Dempsey slapped a cellphone out of her hand. 

The fight turned physical, and Dobrzynski pulled out a gun, firing shots that hit Dempsey's car.

Dempsey's son, Jordan, was sitting in the car at the time, and he said the gunfire nearly hit the boy's head.

“The thought of his dad almost getting killed and himself almost getting killed by the next-door neighbor basically over parking is ridiculous and heartbreaking,” said Dempsey.

Jordan's parents Stephen and Sabrina say he was texting his grandmother that he nearly lost his life.

“I felt the wind from the bullet, and it landed, and it got stuck in the door right next to me,” said 9-year-old Jordan.

The Dempseys say the complex painted red lines in February to separate both neighbors' properties and their designated parking spaces. But they claim the office hasn't done much to help the situation.

Sabrina can't believe the issue has escalated to this point.

“This far from my son and I'm not sure how close it was to my husband, but my son felt the air from the bullet go past his head. He's 9 years old, shouldn't be having to deal with this over parking,” said Sabrina.

ABC57 reached out to the Countryside Village, and they said they had no comment at this time.

ABC57 also reached out to Tiffany Dobrzynski, the neighbor charged with criminal recklessness and intimidation.

She claims the Dempsey family has been harassing her over the parking situation.

She also says that during Tuesday's altercation, her neighbor Stephen hit her, and she was scared for her life.

She adds that she tried to shoot at his car window to try to break it, not realizing their child was in the car.

You can see where the bullet travelled into the truck and where it ended up in the photos below.