A couple at home in Manatee County, Fla., on Dec. 26, 2024, received alerts of motion outside their house from their security cameras around 9 p.m. They saw two masked men on the video feed and immediately reacted. The husband told the wife to retreat to a safer place in the home and retrieved his firearm. He soon encountered an intruder, who had pried open a window using a large screwdriver; another suspect was allegedly crawling through the same window. The homeowner fired on the invader, striking him multiple times and ultimately killing him. The other suspect fled but was arrested nearby after being tracked by a police K9 dog. The suspect who died was from Mexico, had served four months in jail for a prior residential burglary, had been released on parole in the month prior to this incident and was already wanted for parole violation. The other suspect, from Chile, was confirmed to have overstayed a 90-day visa. The sheriff said, “This is the state of Florida. If you want to break into someone’s home, you should expect to be shot.” He also lauded the homeowner’s quick response: “He knew something bad was about to happen, and he didn’t stall.” (nypost.com, New York, N.Y., 12/28/24)
A man and his adult daughter were inside their residence in Houston, Texas, on the afternoon of Dec. 11, 2024, when a man broke into the home. The daughter was apparently asleep at the time of the break-in but awoke to find the suspect inside and fatally shot him. The investigation remained open. (click2houston.com, Houston, Texas, 12/11/24)
