A Florida man opened fire Thursday night when two masked crooks broke into his home. The homeowner shot and killed one of them. WTVT TV reported.
According to the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, the incident occurred in the 6700 block of Hickory Hammock Circle in the Lakewood Ranch neighborhood around 9 p.m. Lakewood Ranch is about 30 minutes northeast of Sarasota.
“The owner of the house is a hero!”
According to WTVT, at a press conference Friday morning, Sheriff Rick Wells said the homeowner's surveillance camera detected movement on the side of the home, and the homeowner then saw two masked men and his wife. He said he told him to find a safe place and grabbed his gun.
Wells told the station that one suspect was shot multiple times and was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, where he died Friday morning.
“This is Florida,” Wells said, according to WTVT. “If you want to break into someone's house, you have to be prepared to get shot.”
The sheriff's office said a K9 dog tracked the second suspect, Michelle Sotomela, 39, several blocks from the residence in question.
Wells told WTVT that Sotomela, who is originally from Chile, had been in the United States illegally after his 90-day visa expired in September. The department said no further details about the suspect who was shot have been released.
“We are trying to get everything we can from the earth. [surviving] “He's been somewhat cooperative, but he's not telling us everything,” Wells said, according to the station.
What is the reaction of observers?
As you might expect, commenters on WTVT's Facebook post about the incident are supportive of the homeowner.
- “The homeowner is a hero!” 1 commenter I wrote.
- “Well done homeowner,” said another user. noticed.
- Another commenter said: “One person died. Well, that's to be expected.” said. “Unfortunately, there are a lot of rotten people in the world.”
- “Bye bye bad guy!” another user shouted.
- “Okay, one less criminal!” another commenter said. declared. “Work hard towards what you want to do in life!”
- “Come on, that’s gun control!” another user said. said.
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