A shotgun-wielding 17-year-old boy recently killed two masked, armed intruders who had broken into a Texas home.
The teen grabbed a shotgun and fired it several times at the intruders during the incident the night of Sept. 9, FOX 26 reported. The incident took place in the Houston, Texas suburb of Channelview.
The two intruders were pronounced dead on the scene, while a third fled in a dark-colored four-door sedan, FOX 26 reported. It’s not clear if the third suspect was ever caught.
Also in the house were another 17-year-old boy, a 12-year-old boy and an adult woman. Sheriff Ed Gonzalez’s report makes it unclear who lived there and how they were related.
Gonzalez said the case is set to go before a grand jury, a process to determine whether there is probable cause to believe a felony was committed before any trial occurs.
Texas law provides one of the strongest protections for self-defense in the country. In that state, self-defense with deadly force against trespassers can be justified under broadly protective “Castle doctrine” and “Stand Your Ground” laws.
The state led the U.S. in gun ownership in 2021, with 1,006,555 licenses issued and 45.7 percent of adults saying they live in homes with guns, according to CBS News.
More recently in Texas, a mother shot a home intruder through her bedroom door while he was trying to get through it to her and her children.
Houston’s Harris County has also seen at least two other fatal shootings of alleged home invaders this year, CBS reported.
In one, a man allegedly broke into a house and was shot by the homeowner, who had been sleeping. In the other, an intruder was reportedly held at gunpoint by a 65-year-old woman while a family member came, who fatally shot the intruder after he allegedly lunged at the family member.
