A woman in San Antonio, Texas, shot and killed an alleged intruder while his son was beside him. The man trying to break in had brought the young boy along with him. The incident began when the homeowner was startled by a man in his 30s trying to break in through a window in her bedroom. The woman grabbed her gun and shot at the suspect twice. He was struck once and later pronounced dead at the hospital.
When officers arrived, the 7-year-old son of the suspect was detained by police.
“We’re gonna get help for him,” Police Chief William McManus told the San Antonio Express-News.
The homeowner was not charged with killing the intruder.
Many readers expressed sympathy for the child, but applauded the homeowner for doing what she needed to do to protect herself.
“The thieving b****** got just what he deserved,” one reader commented on Facebook. “But I do feel bad for the little kid. that lady protected herself from who knows what that bastard would have done to her.”
How sorry can you be to go on a crime spree and take your 7yo child with you!” another wrote. “Sorry pos got what he deserved but that poor kid.”
“Glad the woman was able to protect herself,” added another. “Great job. Maybe the child will have a better chance now growing up.”
Other readers pointed to the story as what they perceive to be a result of a particular climate of violence in the U.S. that is seemingly getting worse.
“This is one of many reasons why America is heading to obliteration,” wrote one commenter. “Respect starts inside the home. When parents are incapable of raising proper children, this is the result. Children having children, parents who let the internet, Xbox, and Nintendo teach morals instead of the Bible. America has never seen this level of violence, this level of absent parenting, this level of hopelessness, helplessness, or this incredible out of control population! It’s going to get worse!”
In a similar incident in San Antonio just weeks earlier, a woman shot at an intruder and was able to scare him away without hitting him.
“She shot through the window,” Sgt. Michael Oliva told WOAI. “She was probably trying to scare him. We checked and there’s no evidence that he was shot.”
The man who fled the scene was described as a Hispanic male in his early 20s. He attempted to break into the home through the back kitchen door.
