Vancouver homeowner shoots, kills intruder
VANCOUVER, Wash. – A Vancouver man shot and killed an intruder in his home early Saturday morning, police said.
The homeowner, who has not been identified, called 911 just after 2 a.m. and told dispatchers he had just shot a man in his bedroom.
Officers arrived at the home, in the 3700 block of Northeast 54th Avenue, and found the body of a 42-year-old man. He has not been identified and the homeowner did not know him, police said.
Authorities say the intruder appears to have entered the residence through an unsecured door and had forced his way into a secured bedroom.
Before the shooting, a trooper with the Washington State Patrol was in the middle of a traffic stop less than a half-block away from the home when he saw a man fitting the intruder’s description stumbling down the sidewalk and mumbling incoherently, according to police. The trooper called the dispatch center and asked for other officers to respond, fearing the man was a potential danger to himself.
Troopers and Vancouver police officers were searching for the man when they were informed of the shooting.
Good job to the homeowner. Hope he's gonna be OK coping with the aftermath.
The home owner took care of it... End of story!
Hasta la vista douch bag. And how many left to go? Keep up the awesome work citizens.
@Gigi Would you feel the same way if this was your dad, son,brother or somebody you loved? Yes the homeowner had a right to defend himself but that man had a family including 4 kids who are grieving the loss of their father today and a mother who s grieving the loss of her son. All I am saying is have a little respect for the family who is reading these comments and trying to make sense of such a tragedy. They have done nothing wrong.
@KC You are correct in that the intruder was family to some people and may have been loved by them. But to society in general, he appears to have at the least been a drunkard who burst into the wrong home, or at worst a burglar who burglarized the wrong home. Either situation is not a favorable status to have and the family should be prepared for honest opinion if they decide to read these forums.
Cleaning up the streets one criminal at a time.
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Would rather have a gun in my hand than a cop on the phone any day..
He probably thought it was his house and was blitzed. I kind of feel sorry for him as much as the homeowner. Sounds like he just was too wasted to realize it wasn't his house.
 @jelisized Perhaps, it reads that way to me also. Then again, maybe he WAS armed and ready to harm the homeowner. Alas, we will likely never know for certain.
 @Furd  @jelisized I would be more likely to think that if he hadn't broken into a locked bedroom.
 @Insomniac Dreams  @Furd  @jelisized The article stated he APPEARED to enter through an unsecured door and FORCED his way into a secured bedroom. Forced could mean that he just 'shouldered" the door open. IF (and I stress the if) he was falling down drunk he might have thought the door was only stuck or that his wife (assuming he has one) had locked him out because of his drinking habit.
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I know the above is tenuous but it is possible.
Another law abiding gun owner taking out the trash. Good job.
Glad the homeowner was able to defend himself via a firearm. Chalk another one up for the Second Amendment.
 @Crashbox Was he "defending" himself from a potential attacker or just a stupid drunk that wandered into his home?
 @Furd  @Crashbox Perhaps the home owner should have submitted a questionnaire to the intruder in order to determine his intent?
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@Furd @Crashbox once he forced his way into a secure bedroom the stupid drunk ceased to exist. And potential attacker entered bedroom.
 @Furd The presumption is that the homeowner's life was placed in immediate danger when the intruder entered. Granted, there is a possibility of pure error on the intruder's behalf but in any case, self-defense was warranted.
 @Furd I would also feel very bad if the intruder was only disoriented/intoxicated and did so, it is no doubt very rough on the conscience.
 @Crashbox I agree, self defense WAS warranted. I might have done it exactly the same way and if I then found out it was just some drunkl who didn't know he was in the wrong house I would feel pretty rotten about it.
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Tough situation.
Remember that in a matter of life and death that the cops are only 10 minutes away. Your personal weapon is right there, right now.
Culling the idiotic herd, one bullet at a time. Nice job Sir.
So glad the homeowner was a gun owner, that is why he is still alive to tell this story.
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 @blaster You don't know that is the reason he is alive. The intruder may not have been in any condition to harm the homeowner and may not have even had a weapon.
@Furd @blaster irrelevant once secure bedroom door was breached.
boy, I wish I had a thumbs down for all the trooper bashers on here. Regardless of whether he was handling a DUI stop or not, he called and police responded. There is no way he could have known what was going to happen. He's not psychic, no one is.
WSP is so concerned for the mans safety...yet calls other cops to deal with it? WSP..remember you are commissioned police officers too.
 @K00lGuy Change your name to DumbGuy. It's a lot more accurate.
@K00lGuy story states WSP was in the midst of a traffic stop - perhaps something more significant than at the time the man stumbling down the street - so he calls for someone else to respond - he was otherwise engaged in perhaps a DUI arrest ?? we don't know.Â
Alcohol induced delirium and dementia. Fun times. Alcohol is far from a harmless drug that destroys far too many families and individuals. Food for thought.Â
Sounds like this intruder got 'home schooled' about the dangers of alcoholism.
So the police had a chance to prevent this and didn't.
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They observed the man, called for backup, yet lost him? Are you kidding?
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The officer was close enough to hear him mumbling, and they lost him.Â
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What, did the officer call it in then go get a quick doughnut?Â
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Did you miss the part in the story where the officer was in the middle of a traffic stop? And no, I disagree with your statement that he should have left the traffic stop, because we don't know what type of traffic stop it was. Drunk driver? "Hey Mr. Drunk Driver, just stay put for a minute while I go attend to this homeless drunk." Zooooommmmmmmm away and kill someone possibly...
@caphillkid Cap, read the article, he had someone stop for another reason-could have been a DUI.
He called for back up. This is all prior to the shooting.
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If the cops put a stop to everyone mumbling to themselves while they walked, we would be screaming harrassment. I'm not going to put the blame on them for this one until it has been proven they could actually have done something to prevent it.. And I sincerely hope you don't really believe they are to blame for this either.Â
 @chickysgirl If that intruder had killed that homeowner, all of you would be outraged that the cop let him slip away after calling for backup.Â
 @justme  Maybe if we BEG, komo will add 'thumbs down' buttons!
@caphillkid @chickysgirl and if WSP had left a DUI stop to tend to a mumbling drunk and the DUI driver drove off and crashed into someone killing them...they would be wrong for that too. i am sure the trooper weighed the situation as he saw it at the moment -
 @caphillkid Come on, Read the artificial! " Washington State Patrol was in the middle of a traffic stop" So in other wards he had someone pulled over, perhaps DU II at that time of the morning?
 @caphillkid Cap, the officer was in a middle of a stop and only saw someone who could be a potential threat to himself.  Was he going to say to the driver "I'm going to let you off this time, I've got to stop this guy from puking on himself" ?
 @ChestersGorilla Yes, he/she should have told the driver to stay put and have another officer respond to the traffic stop. Not rocket science.Â
 @caphillkid  @ChestersGorilla Right, as IF people always 'stay right there' while the cop handles another situation of apparently LESS danger.
The babbling drunk on foot appeared to be less of a threat than the babbling drunk behind the wheel of a lethal weapon. I think the patrolman made the right choice.
Man, I like to have a couple of drinks, but have never mistaken my house on the way home.
 @Tolly371 I have.  Once.  Perfectly sober.  Walking back from a laundry room with a basket heading for my apartment #10.  Walked right into #8 and wondered why my neighbor was standing in my kitchen surrounded by all her furnishings.  Cue quick and embarrassed apology with hasty retreat here.
I almost walked into my Niece's neighbor's house to go to a family retirement get together, and I don't even drink.....all the houses look alike.
 @ChestersGorilla  @Tolly371 Me too, except it was a friend's apartment and I couldn't figure why a stranger was in it, and was worried I'd had some kind of time travel or serious memory lapse. The stranger wasn't overly happy either!