A homeowner shot and killed a distraught stranger who got past a locked gate, tried to push his way into the house and threatened to hurt the family inside, Clark County sheriff’s officials said Friday.
Deputies were called to a home near Battle Ground in a rural area of the county about 9:45 p.m. Thursday after a 911 caller said an “unknown and unwanted man” was at the front door of the home and trying to get inside, the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. The caller said the stranger had gotten past a locked driveway gate and was trespassing.
Sheriff’s officials didn’t immediately identify the homeowner or the man who was killed.
The man appeared to be emotionally distraught and was agitated, according to the statement. The homeowner answered the door armed with a handgun and tried to speak to the man.
The man tried to push past him into the house, but the homeowner eventually calmed him down and talked to him on the front porch as others in the home hid in a back bedroom, sheriff’s officials said.
The 911 caller reported that the man at one point told the homeowner to shoot him and threatened to “go after” or “hurt” the homeowner’s wife if the homeowner didn’t shoot him, sheriff’s officials said.
The homeowner was still trying to calm down the man when the man assaulted him, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The homeowner then shot the man, who died at the scene, sheriff’s officials said.
The homeowner and residents of the home near Northeast 176th Avenue and 202nd Street in unincorporated Clark County have cooperated with the investigation, sheriff’s officials said. No arrests have been made, they said.
Gunfire erupts when West County homeowner confronts burglar
EUREKA, Mo. (KMOV.com) – Eureka police are investigating after a homeowner confronted a burglar rifling through his truck and it turned violent.
As the suspect was running away, surveillance video captured him shooting at the homeowner, who returned fire.
“It happened so fast, I didn’t know he had a gun,” said the homeowner, Jesse Leuthauser.
It happened just before 1:00 a.m. on White Doe Court. The bullet the suspect fired at Leuthauser missed him. Eureka police are not sure if the suspect was hit. Police believe there were three suspects involved. They took off in a Nissan after the shooting.
“I’m not scared of them. I’m going to take these guys head on if they come back,” said Leuthauser.
Leuthauser is worried they will return because he believes the same guy have been at his house before.
“This is the third time in three months that it’s happened. They stole it on May 23 and took me 11 days to get it back, and it was destroyed,” said Leuthuaser.
Leuthauser said several of his neighbors’ cars were also hit early Friday morning. Eureka police believe the trio is behind as many as 12 break-ins Friday alone.
“We believe it’s an organized group that’s out there targeting, they’re using stolen vehicles, they are armed. What they’re looking for is weapons and other valuables,” said Lt. Mike Werges with Eureka police.
Werges said this type of crime is on the rise across the St. Louis metro. His department is stepping up patrols, which will include unmarked cars and license plate readers since many of the vehicles used in these crimes were reported stolen.
“I think that at times we live in a kinda a false sense of security. This is a very safe community; however, you wake up to motion in your driveway, you go out to confront someone, which you think maybe is just stealing change and you end up being involved in a violent altercation,” said Werges.
Leuthauser’s situation is proof that even a well-lit home and an obvious camera mounted on the garage won’t always stop criminals. He said the criminals’ boldness is what he finds most alarming.
“It’s getting old, you know? Someone is going to get hurt, someone is going to get shot,” said Leuthauser.