North Bend homeowner shoots, kills intruder
Mar 31, 2012, 8:47 AM | Updated: Apr 2, 2012, 7:55 am
The intruder shot and killed by a North Bend homeowner Friday night had reportedly been running around the town terrorizing people before he was shot.
Police said the man was banging on doors and homes for about 45 minutes before he broke into the final home on 5th Street by throwing a propane tank through a sliding glass door.
The King County Sheriff’s office said that’s where a North Bend man shot and killed the man after he burst into the bedroom where he and his girlfriend were hiding.
Police were already searching for the suspect when they discovered the final break-in in progress.
When police arrived to the home of a woman and her daughter in the 400 block of Southeast Orchard Drive, they were told that a man had tried to break into their home. As officers were speaking to the victims of the attempted break-in, they heard “banging” and responded to a call from a nearby home.
As the suspected burglar was breaking into the other home, the two homeowners locked themselves into the bedroom.
According to King County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Cindi West, the suspect was threatening the homeowners to get out of the bedroom.
“The suspect used expletives and said ‘I’m gonna come mess you up’, and the homeowner repeatedly told the suspect to leave or he would shoot him,” West told King TV.
Once the suspect broke through the bedroom door, the homeowner shot and killed the suspect.
“They’re obviously shaken up,” Sgt. West said of the homeowners. “It was extremely traumatic for them, not only the fear of thinking that somebody is going to kill them but having taken somebody else’s life.”
The homeowner and girlfriend were not injured, and the shooter is not expected to be charged with a crime.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
