Homeowner shoots man after break-in

CLINTON TOWNSHIP --Michigan: "A 29-year-old Rochester Hills man learned the hard way that some homes are protected by scatterguns made by Browning, Remington or Winchester.

Police said the man was shot after breaking into a home about 3:20 a.m. Monday at the Colony Condominium Complex on South Hall Road, east of Hayes.

"We don't know why he was there," said Clinton Township Police Capt. Richard Maierle. "We don't know why he picked that place.

"The home's owner and his wife have no idea who he is and had never seen him before."

Strange noises from the second floor of his condo awoke the 36-year-old homeowner. He armed himself with his 12-guage shotgun and proceeded to investigate.

"He flicked on a light switch and saw (the suspect) standing 5 feet away," Maierle said.

The intruder claimed ignorance, walked down the condo's stairs and left through the homes front door, according to police. The homeowner attempted to detain him, and they struggled on the lawn, police said. The intruder then fled.

But he returned, charged at the homeowner and told him he also had a gun. He then tried to wrest the gun away from the owner, Maierle said. In the struggle, a shot was fired into the ground.

"Somehow the gun was re-racked with another shell and fired again, shooting the suspect in the right leg just below his knee," Maierle said. "It caused extensive damage."

Despite the wound, the intruder continued to fight with the homeowner.

To defend himself, the homeowner struck the intruder in the face with the shotgun's butt and knocked him to the ground.

Police arrived and arrested the intruder, who fought them.

Charges against the suspect -- who is being treated at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital -- are pending. Police investigators haven't been able to speak to the suspect nor have they been able to reach any of his family members."

This is why you don't take a warning shot, or shoot to disable. Even with what was most likely birdshot in his leg, the assailant continued to struggle. There is simply no way to determine the aggressiveness of an intruder and if the shoot is a justified then lethal force is as well. The homeowner could just as easily had his shotgun turned on him, then perhaps even his spouse. We arm ourselves to protect kith and kin, not to take it easy on madmen.