As reported, an armed homeowner in East Ridge, Tennessee stopped an early morning burglar:
Police say that at about 1:45am, a would-be intruder began pounding on the door of a home on South Seminole Drive. The homeowner is said to have come to the door, asked what the person who was pounding on the door wanted, and informed him that the police had been called. In response, the burglar broke a window and tried to unlock the door, at which point the homeowner fired a shot toward the intruder, according to news reports. Shortly thereafter, the homeowner’s father arrived and the burglar advanced on him as well, prompting the father to fire a shot at the ground, police say. The suspect returned to the porch and continued his attempt to renter the home, at which point the police arrived and arrested him, according to news reports. No injuries to the homeowner or his father were reported.
It seems safe to say that an intruder who appears at 1 in the morning, refuses to leave after being told the police have been called, then refuses to leave after a warning shot, and then still refuses to leave after a second warning shot from a second person, is not in the best state of mind. Such individuals have been known to inflict great harm upon their unarmed victims. Fortunately, this homeowner was armed for self defense, and although they did not feel the need to shoot the intruder, could have done so had the situation escalated further.