It Happened To Me: Elderly Man Takes Down Intruder

A 70-year-old man in Sullivan County, Tennessee, was startled at about 2 a.m. when a flashlight beam filled his bedroom window. Then the glass shattered and a burglar tried to enter.

The homeowner “grabbed a pistol and fired it at the suspect, causing the man to fall back,” said sheriff’s deputies in a press release. The burglar then ran to a nearby vehicle. Deputies caught up with him at a hospital, where he was treated for gunshot wounds.

Leslie Earhart, a spokeswoman for the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, said the homeowner acted legally. Charges faced by the 44-year-old suspect, however, would be added to a lengthy rap sheet.

Included in this career criminal’s past, Earhart said, were allegations of theft, aggravated burglary, evading arrest, reckless driving, reckless endangerment, driving with a suspended license and drug possession.

“It is our opinion that the victim did act within the law due to the fact that he was in fear for his life,” Earhart said.

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