Budweiser Beer Argument Leads To ‘Brewhaha’ Shooting Of ‘Friend’ For Bringing Him A Busch

“Great taste, less filling,” goes the old Miller Lite beer commercial argument, friends discussing which of the beer’s positive attributes is most responsible for making it so wonderful. However, unlike another recent beer debate between friends in a “Budweiser vs. Busch” argument, no one got shot in the Miller Lite beer commercials.

Yes, a guy named Clarence Sturdivant, 64, apparently a hardcore Budweiser fan, popped off a shotgun round at his alleged friend, 66-year-old Walter Merrick, as the heated argument between the two regarding which was better, Budweiser beer or Busch, spiraled out of control, reports Nola.com.

Sturdivant’s Budweiser-motivated shotgun blast caught Merrick in the arm and chest, the shot’s pellets apparently being small grade and only leaving the wounded Busch-beer supporter with relatively light wounds that are not considered life threatening, according to Jefferson Parrish Shiriff’s spokesman, Col. John Fortunato.

The Budweiser “brewhaha” unfolded in Harvey, a community outside of New Orleans, last Saturday, March 7, with Clarence in the Budweiser corner, and Walter in the Busch corner, in a parking lot outside a single-story apartment building.

When police arrived, only the wounded Merrick was around to give his version of the Budweiser argument and shooting story, with the Budweiser-loving Sturdivant having already fled the scene.

Merrick told investigators that he and Sturdivant were just hanging out talking before the argument when Sturdivant asked him for a beer.

Unbeknownst to Merrick, Sturdivant’s request meant a Budweiser beer, so when Merrick returned with a can of Busch instead of Budweiser, Sturdivant was apparently none too pleased.

According to the police report regarding the Budweiser shooting argument, Sturdivant became angry as soon as Merrick returned with the unacceptable can of Busch, strongly asserting that Budweiser was the far superior beer.

With that, the fuse for the fight was lit — Budweiser is better. No, Busch is better. Budweiser. Busch, etc. — until, according to Merrick, Sturdivant made his Budweiser-is-better point by shooting him.

Sturdivant then allegedly drove off, whether he left the can of Busch behind and was on a mission to find a Budweiser was not made clear, but police were able to pull over the Budweiser-fan shortly thereafter. In Sturdivant’s truck police reportedly found 20-gauge shotgun rounds ready for use, and had already secured a spent shotgun cartridge back at the scene of the Budweiser argument.

But with Sturdivant in custody, and after talking to some witnesses, a new version of what led to the Budweiser argument and shooting was forthcoming, according to Reuters.

According to witnesses, it was actually Merrick who first pulled a gun on Sturdivant while pressing his Busch-is-better-than-Budweiser argument. Sturdivant then pulled out his scattergun to secure the debate for team-Budweiser. Sturdivant told this same version of the story.

Regardless, even though the Budweiser loving Sturdivant wasn’t arrested for shooting Merrick, he was taken into custody for some previous issues. And for Merrick, adding insult to injury, he was charged with aggravated assault to go along with being shot for the Budweiser argument.

So which is it for you, Dear Reader? Budweiser or Busch?

[Image by Spencer Platt via Getty Images]