Houston, TX Home Invader Shot in Self Defense

As reported, a Houston, TX homeowner used his shotgun to save himself and his wife from a violent burglar.

Police say that the husband and wife, who own a home on Cloverleaf Street in Houston, were awakened by the sound of breaking glass and their home security system siren. The wife reportedly noticed an intruder, and yelled for her husband to grab his shotgun. Shotgun in hand, the husband is said to have seen a burglar dressed in black, who was brandishing a fire extinguisher. The husband reportedly fired one shot in self defense, hitting the burglar in the hip and causing him to scream then flee. Police are said to have found a suspect, who was reportedly identified as 17 year old Mark Galvan, laying in a neighbor’s yard and suffering from a gunshot wound. Galvan was reportedly taken in to custody, treated for his wounds, and then charged with burglary.

As this case shows, it is not wise to trust one’s life to the hope that a violent burglar will flee upon hearing an alarm.  A burglar may decide that although the alarm is sounding, they can complete their crime in the (at least) several minutes that it will take for the police to arrive.  Or, the criminal could be a drug user or mentally disturbed person who is simply not amenable to reason.  Regardless of the criminal’s underlying motive, the net result can be unarmed citizens harmed in their own home by a violent burglar.

A couple of real-life examples reinforce this point, while showing the value of gun ownership for self defense:  In one case, a man was asleep in his home when his burglar alarm woke him up.  Standing over him was a knife wielding criminal, who forced the man to turn off the alarm, and then proceeded to rob the man at knife point.  Luckily that man was a gun owner, and managed to grab a self defense gun and scare the criminal away.  In another case, a woman was home sick from work when her burglar alarm went off.  Despite the fact that the alarm was sounding the police were on their way, the criminals continued to break in.  Upon seeing the woman, the three criminals fled.  Amazingly, however, one of the criminal circled back and tried to break in yet again.  Fortunately, the woman had a gun, and shot the home invader in self defense.