Homeowner Shoots Intruder After Neighbors Hear Screams

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

A homeowner in Oceanside, California, fatally shot an intruder who broke into his home earlier this week.

His Last Break-In

The intruder, a 22-year-old man, entered the home through a sliding door in the backyard around 7 p.m. Armed with a 3-foot-long wooden stake and a rock, the suspect climbed the stairs and entered a bedroom.

According to Fox5, the homeowner and his wife were in the bedroom when the intruder arrived. The suspect attacked throwing the large rock at the homeowner. 

According to a neighbor, the rock broke the homeowner’s nose. 

The homeowner grabbed a firearm and shot three times at the intruder. One of the bullets hit him in the chest, according to 10News.

According to reports, the homeowner stayed in his home until police arrived. 

The emergency personnel attempted to revive the intruder, but he died. The police are investigating and consider this a self-defense case.

Not The First Offense

The suspect did not make it farther than this final home, but according to Oceanside Police, he appeared to have attempted break-ins at seven other homes in the neighborhood.

His preferred method of entry was sliding glass doors, and one neighbor reported that the intruder had broken his sliding glass door with a rock.

The Neighbors Got Some Too

Peter Bracken told ABC7 that he and his wife had been watching the Olympics. They heard a scream and then several gunshots. “Someone came out, called 9-1-1,” Bracken said.

Other neighbors reported similar stories. Sue Tran told CBS8 she had just arrived home when she saw neighbors run screaming. She saw the wife [of the homeowner] run out of the garage. 

“It definitely could’ve been my house, considering that he broke part of my fence, yeah it could’ve been me,” Tran said.

The neighborhood agreed that this is concerning.

Concerned Neighbors

“I’m scared, the homeless situation is getting worse, I do find random people walking through this clean, safe neighborhood from time to time and I just don’t think it’s getting any better,” Tran said.

“We honestly never thought anything like that would happen around here because it’s so quiet,” Isabel Cole said.

“It was just really crazy and unfortunate, but like we’ve had problems in the past where we’ve seen these people that are all on drugs, walking around the neighborhood, things like that. And finally one of them broke into the house and he paid the price,” Dwight Ivy said.

Several neighbors supported the homeowner’s use of a firearm in self-defense. 

The Neighbors Support Self-Defense

“Thank god we have our Second Amendment you, we have the right to bear arms and protect ourselves and that’s what that man did and I applaud him for that,” Ivy said

“He came in the bedroom where his wife was, I would have done the same thing.” Bracken said, “I mean, he has every right to defend himself, to defend his family.”

READ MORE: Suspect Breaks Into Two Homes, Shot By Homeowner

No one knows yet if the intruder was struggling with drugs or mental illness. But the neighbors are spooked either way.

You have a constitutional right to defend yourself, your home, and your family. This homeowner had a gun in his bedroom and was able to do what needed to be done.

Be like this homeowner.

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