An elderly homeowner fatally shot a home intruder who had climbed through a back window into his house in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last week.
According to the Tulsa Police Department, around 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 27 law enforcement responded to a shooting at 14th and Florence Place. Officers quickly determined that an elderly homeowner had shot a burglary suspect “who had climbed through the back window and was inside his house.”
“After being shot, the male suspect jumped out of the window, ran to the front of the house, then collapsed. When first responders arrived, the burglary suspect was pronounced dead,” the department said.
The suspect was later identified as 32-year-old Scotty Villines. The homeowner was interviewed by police and then released, 2News Oklahoma reported.
According to the FBI’s most recent crime statistics, there were more than 1 million burglaries in the United States every year from 2013 and 2019.
“In 2019, there were an estimated 1,117,696 burglaries, a decrease of 9.5 percent when compared with 2018 data. The number of burglaries decreased 29.6 percent when compared with 2015 data and was down 48.5 percent when compared with the 2010 estimate,” the FBI’s website states.
The bureau defines a burglary as “the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft.” The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program has three subclassifications for burglaries, including forcible entry, unlawful entry where no force is used, and attempted forcible entry.
In a similar incident, an Ohio man fatally shot his daughter’s ex-boyfriend as he attempted to break into their home earlier this year.
A Ring video doorbell camera captured the encounter as the ex-boyfriend, identified as 22-year-old James Rayl, rang the doorbell multiple times and then began beating on the door to get in. After he and other family members shouted several warnings, 52-year-old Mitchell Duckro shot Rayl three times, fatally wounding the man.
