It was a quick exit for an alleged home intruder in Webster Groves, Missouri, late last week — but he didn’t depart the way he came in. This from theblaze.com.
Police in the St. Louis suburb were called at 2:51 a.m. Friday for a “burglary in progress” in the 1400 block of Grant Road, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
A man had entered a home through a back door but was soon confronted by the homeowner, police reported.
And the homeowner planned ahead for just such an occasion by exercising his Second Amendment rights. Police noted to the paper that the homeowner was armed with a shotgun.
The homeowner reportedly gave the intruder a chance to correct his mistake. He ordered the intruder to get out.
“When the suspect refused to comply with verbal commands to exit the residence, the suspect was shot by the homeowner,” Lt. Andrew Miller of the Webster Groves Police reported.
Police told the Post-Dispatch that the intruder died at a hospital and that police were still trying to identify him.
Miller said the homeowner wasn’t arrested, the paper reported, adding that detectives remained at the home hours later. Miller added to the paper that the case was still being investigated and that a couple in their late 40s owns the home.
But Miller declined to comment on whether or not the homeowner and intruder knew each other, the Post-Dispatch said, noting that Miller cited the ongoing investigation.
The paper said that under Missouri law, such shootings can be considered justified under the “castle doctrine” — the state’s expanded self-defense law.
The Post-Dispatch said that under the castle doctrine, those who encounter intruders in their homes or vehicles — or on their properties, under a recent expansion of the law — are given more leeway in using deadly force.
Score another one for the Second Amendment. And for the practicality of a loaded, well functioning tactical home-defense shotgun. Plus the importance of a homeowner who had thought ahead and prepared for such a situation.
