A homeowner in Fresno, California, shot a 17-year-old last week who was trying to break into his home. It was the second time in the last two weeks the home had been targeted, according to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.
“We’re obviously talking with the homeowner to figure out why he might be getting targeted so much, and then there’s a lot to the story that we still don’t know,” said Tony Botti with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.
While authorities are still piecing together the timeline of the incident, Botti said that the homeowner was alerted to the intrusion by his door camera. At some point, the homeowner confronted the attempted burglar with a handgun, and several shots were fired. The suspect does not appear to have been armed.
“The homeowner gave us some pretty good details, but we want to know a little bit more as to what caused him to fire at the suspect,” Botti said.
SEE ALSO: South Carolinian Who Survived Home Invasion: ‘Bums and thieves… If I have to disable you, I’ll do it’
Deputies found the suspect about half a block away from the house suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to a nearby hospital and is expected to recover.
The homeowner told authorities that someone had tried to break into his home last week as well. In that incident, the suspect entered the home but, apparently, no video was recorded. Deputies are trying to compare the footage from this recent incident with a description of the first attempted burglar.
“We’re looking into that. We do have video evidence from this morning. We’re trying to see if we can get a better description of the person who broke in last week,” said Botti.
Multiple other people live in the home as well, and deputies are questioning them as part of the investigation.
SEE ALSO: Five Multiple-Intruder Home Invasions in Four Days Prove Need for Standard Capacity Mags
While California isn’t known for being a pro-gun, castle doctrine state, the commenters on this story were all positive when it was posted on the social media page of a local news station.
“Picked the wrong house… lucky he only got shot in the shoulder!” one commenter said.
“It is a home owners right to protect his life and the life of his family!” another stated. “Anyone threatening that deserves what this guy got and more!”
One commenter bemoaned the California justice system, and another pointed out that many residents have taken their personal protection into their own hands.
It’s just going to get worse, we have to many judges that think it’s up to them to change the constitution to help them selves.
…awwww…the poor kid was just trying to steal some bread for a sandwich…awwww…that mean old homeowner should have just let him take whatever he liked…gosh…
Yeah, we all got a bad feeling about what’s going to happen to the homeowner. He seems to be getting more scrutiny than the perp😠
If the perp. was black the home owner will be charged.
I train with ITTS (active & retired LAPD SWAT) and one of the first things they teach you is in CA, there’s a higher burden of proof regarding a homeowner shooting an intruder. You need to prove you were threatened and defending yourself. And it can’t be because someone was breaking into your car trying or steal from you. It’s not like other states where you can just shoot someone because they’re standing on your property. Hopefully this homeowner’s shooting was justified and won’t land him in jail…or a civil suit.
Does anyone know the “regulations” for a home/property invasion in New Mexico?
Bad news, this homeowner is in trouble. They were not in the house, and he was chasing him.
On the questions about a 2nd attempt, LE may suspect the homeowner is engaged in some nefarious activity 🤔🤔🤔
Still investigating why the homeowner might be guilty of being a break-in victim? Welcome to Newsom’s CA!
Too bad the repeat felon lived. One less would have been a good start.