Family fights back when armed, masked man barges through front door

WHIO (Dayton CBS) reported earlier this week that an armed intruder was shot by a resident inside a home after he entered through an unlocked door.

From the article:

At the time of the shooting, just after 6:30 p.m., there were three adults and three children in the house in the 500 block of Lowell Avenue in this Preble County village.

“We found a 22-year-old male on the floor just inside the front door with a single gunshot wound to the torso area,” Simpson said. “According to the people who live here, they do not know him.”

The man, who had a handgun, was taken by CareFlight to Miami Valley Hospital. Simpson said said he did not have the man’s name or condition.

No other injuries were reported.

Simpson said the preliminary investigation reveals the intruder arrived by car, which was left in front of the single-story home, and residents said he just came through the door. A storm door was unlocked, the front door was ajar.

“According to people here, he walks in the door … they observe him with a weapon, and one shot is fired and he is hit,” Simpson said.

According to the 911 call released by the sheriff’s office, when the 911 dispatcher asked about the intruder, the woman said, “I have no idea who he is. He had a mask tied over his face. His eyes were showing and he had a hat on…it was like a bandanna.”

The report says the husband was alerted to the intruder by his 3-year-son, who had come into the home and alerted his father that “a robber’s here, daddy.”

Sheriff Simpson is quoted as saying “The resident’s decision to fire at our victim was based on the fact that the victim was armed with a pistol,” Simpson said. “So, based on what we know today, we don’t see any issues with [the resident’s] decision to do that.”

Under Ohio's Castle Doctrine law, if someone unlawfully enters or attempts to enter an occupied home or temporary habitation, or occupied car, citizens have an initial presumption that they may act in self defense, and will not be second-guessed by the State.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, BFA PAC Vice Chairman, and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.