A Florida man has been charged with murder in connection with the fatal shooting of a gay man at a Tampa dog park on Feb. 2, and prosecutors say the victim was targeted because of his sexual orientation, the Hillsborough State Attorneys Office announced Friday.

Gerald Declan Radford, 65, of Tampa, was arrested Friday and charged with second-degree murder in the death of John Walter Lay, 52. The day before he was killed, Lay sent a video to his friends saying that a man he called Dec had been threatening him, according to a news release shared with HuffPost by the State Attorneys Office. Investigators said they believe he was referring to Radford.

The arrest came five weeks after the shooting because investigators were gathering evidence that ultimately cast doubt on Radfords claim at the scene that he had acted in self-defense, the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office said in a news release.

Prosecutors said that they will seek tougher sentencing guidelines under the states hate crime laws.