Home-invasion victim shoots suspect dead
April Hunt | Sentinel Staff Writer
June 22, 2007
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The victims of a violent home invasion early Thursday turned the table on their attackers, killing one of the suspects with an assault rifle and stabbing another.

Three armed men stormed through the unlocked front door of the home on Muscatello Street in the Peppermill subdivision near Hunter's Creek at about midnight.

The five men and one woman who live there, most of whom are students at the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, scattered as the suspects began ransacking the home, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.



One of the victims grabbed an AK-47 semi-automatic rifle and hid in a closet. When he heard one of the gunmen fire two rounds into the house and then try to force his way into the closet, the victim fired three shots through the closet door and killed the 21-year-old suspect, authorities said.

"He did everything possible to avoid a physical confrontation. The last thing he wanted to do was kill somebody," Deputy Sheriff Carlos Padilla said. "Deep down in his heart, he felt his friends were getting killed."

During the confrontation, another of the victims managed to stab one of the two other suspects as they fled.

All three of the suspects covered their faces during the crime and carried at least two weapons. The dead suspect, whose name has not been released, dropped a handgun when he was shot. The others left behind one other handgun, Padilla said.

None of the victims was injured, although Padilla described the shooter as distraught at having taken the suspect's life.

Deputies did not find any drugs in the house and are unsure why the gunmen targeted the home.

A search team and K-9 unit were unable to find the other suspects in the invasion.

The incident remains under investigation.

The showdown is the third time this week that intended victims fought back against their attackers in Orange County.

Sunday morning, a man drew his concealed 9 mm pistol, but did not fire, to escape a confrontation with two shotgun-wielding assailants on the east side of Kirkman Road, across the street from the MetroWest neighborhood.

Early Tuesday, a man grabbed for and eventually wrested away the .40-caliber handgun that a carjacker used to hold him up. The gun discharged during the struggle, but no one was hurt.

April Hunt can be reached at ahunt@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6269.

Gotta love the Great State of Florida!!!!!

A Scumbag tried something like that a couple of years ago and meet a similar fate. Expect he was shot in the leg and tried to escape. He was chased by the homeowner through a field and held at gunpoint until the police got there.

I wonder what would happen to the killer victim in New York State?

The family of the criminal would get a million dollars and the victim/hero would get prison time because he owned a evil gun and didn't give it to the criminal nor did he give the criminal anything else.

Then I guess I'm boned if someone breaks into my house, whether I shoot him or not...

Another discussion similar to this topic has been discussed where the homeowner shot the burgler and ended up being sued by the burgler. My comment for this discussion is the same as it was for the other one ... let some scumbag break into my home and I will kill him stonecold dead, even if the only weapon I can lay my hands on is a feather duster - I don't care if this scurfball is 15 years old or 45 years old ... he will end up being a decoration for the embalmers slab when I am done with him (political correctness be damned - not on my dime)

Originally Posted by 5.56X45mm

The family of the criminal would get a million dollars and the victim/hero would get prison time because he owned a evil gun and didn't give it to the criminal nor did he give the criminal anything else.

Wrong. Having to be a New Yorker allow me to explain.

1. First of all home invasions are extremely rare in NY. And as I have shown you before in other threads, crime rates in NY are much lower than those in Florida. NYC is still rated as the safes cities in the US.

Continually Repeating wrong information despite me showing you proof to the the contrary several times in the past doesn't strength your arguement.
Just because Florida has a high crime rate doesn't mean NY does.

2. In the 2nd place. You have armed suspects threatening the occupants with firearms, Thats pretty open and shut self-defense case. We have stricter guidlines, but if someone is threatening a person with a firearm the guideline in NY is clear: Deadly Force is permitted.

What happened in Florida would play out exactly the same way in NY. As I have said in the past, although NY might have stricter gun laws (and a much lower crime rate) than Florida, we do have quite a lot of gun owners.

I have sat through a grand jury trial in NYC where a person broke into a persons house with a bat (angry over a unpaid loan) and was shot and wounded by the home owner. The only trouble the owner got into was not having a handgun license, which is a legal no-no everywhere. But the shooting itself was ruled legit.

So there's your answer.

The difference is that we have a very competent police force, ergo we don't have the need for vigilante justice, unlike some areas.

Competant police force? Ha! Ever been upstate?

Why yes. My folks had a house near Glens Falls NY near the Adirondack Mountains if you know that area. And yes both my next door neighbors (man and wife) were cops. They were quiet effective in keeping the various riff-raff out of our property, especially when we were not there.

I also found the state troopers quite professional too. I only dealt with them once, but we were sure glad he was there, we were in a bad car wreck. He patched up my mom who was cut up by our exploding windshield.

So yes, I stand by my statement. NY cops are pretty damn good. I have seen much worse in the midwest.

Well, I wouldn't know about the midwest. But I've seen cops up here ditched by cocky teenagers. Not a good sign.

Originally Posted by mmarsh

Wrong. Having to be a New Yorker allow me to explain.

1. First of all home invasions are extremely rare in NY. And as I have shown you before in other threads, crime rates in NY are much lower than those in Florida. NYC is still rated as the safes cities in the US.

Continually Repeating wrong information despite me showing you proof to the the contrary several times in the past doesn't strength your arguement.
Just because Florida has a high crime rate doesn't mean NY does.

2. In the 2nd place. You have armed suspects threatening the occupants with firearms, Thats pretty open and shut self-defense case. We have stricter guidlines, but if someone is threatening a person with a firearm the guideline in NY is clear: Deadly Force is permitted.

What happened in Florida would play out exactly the same way in NY. As I have said in the past, although NY might have stricter gun laws (and a much lower crime rate) than Florida, we do have quite a lot of gun owners.

I have sat through a grand jury trial in NYC where a person broke into a persons house with a bat (angry over a unpaid loan) and was shot and wounded by the home owner. The only trouble the owner got into was not having a handgun license, which is a legal no-no everywhere. But the shooting itself was ruled legit.

So there's your answer.

The difference is that we have a very competent police force, ergo we don't have the need for vigilante justice, unlike some areas.

You have to have a license to own a handgun? I have never had a license to own a handgun and I have owned 3 seperate handguns purchased through a legitimate firearms dealer in a store in Denver, CO. Perhaps you will educate me or wish to clarify your statement.