TX - Burglar shot kicking in back door.

General General Discussion
1

http://lubbockonline.com/stories/011910/loc_551762211.shtml

A Lubbock homeowner shot and seriously injured a suspected burglar who was trying to kick in his door Monday afternoon.

The homeowner called police shortly before 2:30 p.m. to report somebody was trying to gain entry into his house in the 3100 block of 45th Street, Lt. Neal Barron said.

He told police he first heard a knocking sound at his front door and then the sound of his back door being kicked in. The homeowner opened the back door, confronted the suspect in his backyard and shot him with a shotgun.

Police wouldn’t release the homeowner’s name, but neighbors said he is a Texas Tech graduate student.

Authorities didn’t anticipate any charges against him.

“A person does have a right to defend his house,” Barron said, noting Texas law allows homeowners to shoot people trying to burglarize their homes.

The “Castle Doctrine” expanded those rights Sept. 1, 2007, legally allowing residents to protect themselves and their property if somebody is forcibly and illegally breaking into their home, vehicle or place of employment or business.

Homeowners are not required to retreat before using deadly force.

Neighbor Phil Botik said he hopes the shooting will make criminals think twice before coming to his neighborhood.

“I’m glad he did it - send a message to those people,” Botik said. “We’re tired of it.”

He said some of his neighbors have had their homes broken into during the daytime in the past month.

He also has witnessed potential burglars in his neighborhood - one walking on his front porch as if to scope out his home and others possibly checking out houses down the street.

Botik said he would do the same thing as his neighbor if a similar situation occurred.

Authorities were working to file charges against the burglary suspect, who was being treated at University Medical Center for serious injuries. They weren’t believed to be life threatening.

Officers were working late Monday afternoon and into the evening to possibly connect the attempted break-in with others in the area. They believe several other suspects fled the scene after the shooting.

Police ask anyone who might have information about the burglars to call Crime Line at 741-1000. Callers may remain anonymous.

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Thats how it should be done - some may say should have taken him all the way out - others not. I know what I would have done :wink: - that said, glad to see(at least initially) that no charges pending against homeowner…

3

my only questions are “why did’nt he shoot him again?”

and “how do u shoot someone with a shotgun and not kill them?”

poor aim or bird shot?

4

  1. Possibly he was no longer a threat.

  2. He shot him in the backyard. Aim, distance & load could all impact how badly the guy was injured.

5

Being totaly unfamiliar with Texas law, what are the chances of the perp suing the home owner for pain and suffering? lol

Not trying to be funny about it. But I can imagine something like that happening here.

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Castle Doctrine here protects you against civil penalty ftw (if it was at your house only)

7

In NY or NJ the DA and the media would most likely want to make an “example” of the evil home owner trying to hurt the poor defenseless robber. Makes me sick.

8

An example of another shotgun not hitting the intruder and knocking them back 8 feet in the air and landing dead… http://www.northescambia.com/?p=13991

Homeowner Shoots At Intruder With Shotgun
January 20, 2010
A homeowner shot at an intruder Tuesday night in Cantonment, and deputies are still searching for the suspect.

About 6:30, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department responded to the home in the 1800 block of Wareham Way. That’s where a homeowner says he shot at a man trying to get into his house. Deputies don’t believe the homeowner’s shotgun blast hit the intruder, but they were not completely certain.

The intruder was not found.

Warem Way is a small cul-de-sac located off Louis Street, just south of International Paper.

9

It was birdshot.

Last I talked to Neil they weren’t looking at charges for the homeowner.

Don’t think the burglar has a leg to stand on (pun intended) in a civil suit. Still looking for other suspects. Evidence and statements point towards more than just the shot suspect being involved.