Sandy MaloneWest Palm Beach, FL – A home intruder was fatally shot early on Saturday morning when he broke into the wrong house and woke up a couple who was armed.
The incident occurred at about 4:16 a.m. on Feb. 12 in the 500-block of Avon Road in West Palm Beach, WPBF reported.
Police said that a 40-year-old man broke into a home through a window into the master bedroom where the homeowners were sleeping, FOX News reported.
Once he was inside the bedroom, the suspect turned on a bedroom light which woke up the sleeping couple, WPTV reported.
Police said that a confrontation between the home invader and the homeowners ensued.
And that was when the residents shot the intruder, WPTV reported.
The couple immediately called 911 and West Palm Beach Fire Rescue arrived and transported the wounded suspect to St. Mary’s Medical Center for treatment.
The home invader later died at the hospital, according to WPTV.
Detectives interviewed the people who were sleeping when the suspect broke in and they told investigators that they didn’t know the intruder.
A neighbor who witnessed the chaos that ensued on the street after the suspect was shot told WPTV that it was generally a very quiet neighborhood and a random break-in such as what led to the suspect’s death was highly unusual.
Police have not yet released the identity of the intruder who was fatally shot.
Nor have they released the identities of the couple who killed the man who broke into their bedroom under Marsy’s Law that protects crime victims, WPTV reported.
They have only been identified as a 44-year-old man and a 53-year-old woman and authorities have not said which of them pulled the trigger, FOX News reported.
West Palm Beach police said the investigation into the break-in and subsequent shooting was ongoing.
No charges have been filed against the home’s residents at this time, WPTV reported.
Holly Matkin
