As reported, a Sorrento, Florida homeowner fatally shot a violent burglar in self defense.
Police say that the homeowner had suffered multiple burglaries from his property, causing him to invest in an alarm system. At about 3:30AM on Thursday, the homeowner reportedly heard the alarm go off, prompting him to grab his self defense gun and investigate, while his wife called 911. The homeowner is said to have discovered 23 year old Brett Lee Canada using bolt cutters to break in to the homeowner’s trailer, where he kept the lawn maintenance equipment used for his business. Upon being caught in the act, the burglar lunged at the homeowner, at which point the homeowner fired in self defense, according to police. The burglar, who has recently been arrested for stealing other lawn mowing equipment, died from the gunshot. The homeowner, who police say will not face any charges for his lawful self defense action, was unharmed.
A recurring theme I’ve heard is the mistaken idea that if a person is law abiding and doesn’t get involved with criminals, then they won’t really have to worry about being attacked by criminals. While some crime is certainly criminal-on-criminal as they try to steal each other’s drugs and drug profits, there is plenty of crime randomly directed at law abiding citizens – often by criminals who prefer to steal valuable property than work hard to earn it. As this case shows, crime can happen to anyone – even if they are a law abiding and respected member of their community. For that reason, I believe it is prudent for everyone to be capable of defending themselves and their family.