A Texas mother shot a home intruder through her bedroom door while he was trying to get through it to her and her children last week.
The alleged intruder, 36-year-old Carlos Garcia, was later found in a field about 100 yards away with a gunshot wound in his left arm, the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office announced.
Garcia allegedly broke into the Edinburg home through its garage around 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 25. The unnamed woman warned him that she had called the police, but Garcia ignored her. That’s when she fired once through the door, and Garcia fled, the sheriff announced.
Eddie Guerra, sheriff of the county in the southern tip of Texas, said the woman “did what she had to do.”
“I imagine she was in fear of her life,” he told local outlet KRGV. “We support her.”
He made it clear that the woman was well within her rights when she shot the intruder.
“If someone’s breaking into your home, you have the right to protect yourself and use deadly force, and you’re not going to have any problem with the sheriff of Hidalgo County,” he said.
Under Texas’ “Stand Your Ground” law, residents can use “reasonable force” in defending their property, even if they aren’t physically threatened, and have no obligation to retreat, according to Neal Davis Law Firm.
Garcia got medical attention and was booked into the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center, charged with burglary of habitation with intent. The investigation remained active on Oct. 26.
The sheriff, Guerra, told KRGV that the intruder and woman knew each other, but did not detail their relationship.
Texas dads have had their share of home defense lately, too. Over the summer, a Texas dad shot two 16-year-olds who had opened the door to his car, where his 1-year-old child was seated.
