A central Texas homeowner shot a home intruder who had rammed a vehicle through their locked gate and tried breaking in through the front door on Tuesday, Jan. 3.
The suspect, William Strauser of Valley Mills, is now in Bosque County Jail, charged with attempted burglary, criminal mischief and criminal trespass, according to an announcement from Sheriff Trace Hendricks.
When Bosque County sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene around 6:50 p.m., they found Strauser laying on the sidewalk in front of the house on County Road 3505, a small road surrounded by farms. He had been shot in “the upper region” of his right leg, according to the release.
The homeowner still had Strauser at gunpoint.
Deputies disarmed the homeowner and treated Strauser with first-aid. The homeowner said that Strauser had driven his vehicle through their gate, came to the front door, and “aggressively” attempted to break in.
Evidence at the scene supported that statement, according to the release.
“Due to the circumstances of this incident,” the release states, deputies confirmed that Strauser and the homeowner knew each other. “This was not a random burglary attempt.”
An ambulance took Strauser to the emergency room in Waco, about 30 miles southeast. He was treated for the gunshot wound, released, immediately taken into custody and transported to the county jail.
Also recently in Texas, a shotgun-wielding 17-year-old boy recently killed two masked, armed intruders who had broken into a home in a Houston suburb.
In another case last year, a Texas father shot two teens who tried to enter a car with his wife and 1-year-old infant inside after arriving home shortly after midnight.
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.
