Georgia [Vermont] homeowner seriously wounds man during alleged break-in

Georgia, VT – A Franklin County homeowner shot and critically wounded one of three armed men he says were attempting to break into his house late Tuesday, Vermont State Police said.

Gordon Richard Sr. told police he shot Paul E. Brown, 39, of Milton and St. Albans, just after 11:30 p.m. Brown and two other men allegedly tried to enter Richard’s home on Sand Hill Road through a locked door to a section of the house where Richard’s 40-year-old son, Matthew, lived.

Richard told responding officers that he shot Brown with a muzzleloader rifle, then quickly shut the door and called police. Officers found Brown in a neighbor’s yard, but the others had already fled.

Brown was transported to Northwestern Medical Center, then University of Vermont Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition as of Wednesday afternoon.

No arrests have been made. Vermont State Police said troopers executed a search warrant at the house, conducted interviews and “pursued various leads.” Richard has been cooperative with investigators, police said.