Homeowner Shoots, Kills Burglar Who Got Inside House

Zachary Stieber
By Zachary Stieber
April 23, 2019US News
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Homeowner Shoots, Kills Burglar Who Got Inside House
A person holds a gun in a file photo. (George Frey/Getty Images)

A Washington state homeowner shot and killed a burglar who had broken into his house, police said.

The unnamed homeowner told the King County Sheriff’s Office that he woke up around 2:40 a.m. on April 22 to the sound of glass breaking.

He tried hiding from the suspect.

“A short time later while on the phone with the 911 operator he had reported that he heard somebody coming up toward his room,” Sgt. Ryan Abbott with the King County Sheriff’s Office said. “And then the next thing that was heard was shots fired.”

“The homeowner had shot and ultimately killed the suspect that was inside his home,” Abbott added.

Deputies said that he shot and killed the suspect while he was on the phone with 911.

“He was on the phone trying to hide from possibly multiple people who were inside his home,” Abbott told Q 13. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out is how many people were inside the house.”

The sheriff’s office said that a K-9 brought to the scene couldn’t pick up the trail of a second person, casting doubt on the possibility of a second suspect.

The homeowner was hiding in his bedroom and shot the suspect when the burglar went up to his room.

The homeowner was alone but sometimes has his young children stay at the house. He was cooperating with the police.

A neighbor said that he was glad the homeowner was able to defend himself and his property, noting that crime in the area was on the rise.

“When he first got there, I told him it’s a nice house, but I keep seeing these people behind there, and they actually broke through his fence before and he repaired it,” Dale Meadows, who lives across the street, told Q 13. “They actually came up in his yard. I told him you need to put up some security back there cause these people who hang out back they are dangerous.”

78-Year-Old Shoots Would-Be Robber

A 78-year-old Chicago homeowner said that on April 8 he shot a would-be robber who was one of three people trying to break into his house.

The trio first kept knocking on the door asking to be let in, posing as repairmen. When the homeowner refused to let them in, they left. Several hours later, they were back with a crowbar and tried harder to get in.

One man raised the crowbar to smash glass around the door, prompting the elderly man to shoot.

“That was a tough decision. It’s not like going hunting. It’s hard to shoot a human and not think about it. It’s going to stay with me the rest of my life, what happened. You hate to do something like that, but like the police said, it’s you or him,” the homeowner told CBS Chicago.

“I didn’t feel good doing that, but he would have gotten me with that crowbar. If I get hit with something like a baseball bat, or a crowbar, you ain’t gonna make it.”

“I was in fear for my life,” the man added.

Police said the homeowner has a valid firearm owner’s identification card.

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