By admin 
SCOTTSDALE, AZ (AZFamily) — A routine sales trip turned nearly deadly for a 21-year-old door-to-door salesman who said asking for a sip of water and retracing his steps for a lost wallet ended with an 80-year-old homeowner shooting him in the back.
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Speaking exclusively to Arizona’s Family from his bed in a rehabilitation center, Juan Hoffman recalled the Sept. 13 shooting in a gated North Scottsdale neighborhood near Pima Road and Stagecoach Pass, south of Cave Creek Road.
Hoffman, a Washington native, traveled to the Phoenix area for a week to sell window-cleaning services and save money for college, dreaming of studying electrical engineering and eventually moving into a management role on his sales team.
Instead of working toward a degree, he is now relearning basic mobility.
“The main goal has really just been to be able to get to my wheelchair without help,” Hoffman said. “And going from being super athletic to like doing backflips and this and that to not even like being able to balance my feet by myself for like 10 seconds, it’s definitely different.”
According to court records, Hoffman was knocking on doors in the neighborhood when he stopped at the home of Patrick McBride. Hoffman said he asked for water because he was feeling hot and dehydrated. McBride ordered Hoffman off his property, warning him he was trespassing.
Hoffman complied and left, but before taking his lunch break, he realized his wallet was missing and circled back to search for it.
Court documents state McBride went to his safe, retrieved a handgun, and set out to ensure Hoffman had left the community. Moments later, the two crossed paths in the street.
“He’s like, ‘You need to [expletive] leave, get the [expletive] out of here,’” Hoffman said. “He pulled his shirt up, and I saw a gun. I turned to my left and tried to leave, and next minute, I got shot. It was like within two seconds.”
Hoffman collapsed onto the pavement as blood began pooling beneath him.
“I was in such shock that I didn’t feel the wound of the bullet,” Hoffman said. “He started demanding that I get up and leave, and I said I couldn’t move. And pretty much just picked up my phone, picked up the shell case, and ended up walking back to his house. I just saw chunks of my body on the ground.”
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Hoffman was left injured in the street until a passing vehicle approached. The driver turned out to be McBride’s wife, who called 911. First responders rushed Hoffman, who was in critical condition, to a hospital, while Scottsdale police arrested McBride.
McBride claimed self-defense, telling investigators he feared Hoffman would do something to him. He was booked and held on a $150,000 bond and has since posted bail.
Surgeons have since removed the bullet from Hoffman’s back, but doctors cannot yet say whether he will ever walk again.
“I’m really just trying to live day to day, trying to better myself,” Hoffman said.
Friends and family have launched an online fundraiser to help offset his mounting medical bills and long-term rehabilitation expenses, raising nearly $40,000 so far. Hoffman said he remains overwhelmed with gratitude for the community’s support as he takes his recovery one day at a time.
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