A Tennessee father shot two home intruders Friday night, killing one and injuring the other after they broke into his home and threatened his son at gunpoint.
The Murfreesboro Police Department is investigating the alleged home invasion that included the death of Kevin Ford, 52, from gunshot wounds and the arrest of Clifford Wright, 42, who was later found at the community’s Salvation Army and treated for gunshot wounds at Ascension St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital before being taken to jail.
“It was either them or me – that’s how I was looking at it and I was making sure it wasn’t me or my family,” said the homeowner, who chose to remain anonymous, according to News Channel 5 Nashville.
“I wish it wouldn’t have happened but I’m glad it went my way instead of their way,” he added.
The two men reportedly broke into the family’s home on Friday night at about 8:24 p.m. One of the men tased the family’s dog and held the man’s teenage son at gunpoint. The men allegedly entered the home by breaking through the front door wearing masks and gloves.
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The homeowner grabbed his own gun during the incident, shooting the intruders multiple times. Police arrived to find Ford dead on the ground with the other man having fled.
Three people were reportedly in the home, according to the police report, with no other injuries reported. The dog was also reported in healthy condition.
The unnamed homeowner is not expected to face charges. According to Volunteer State law, “[a] person in lawful possession of real or personal property is justified in threatening or using force against another, when and to the degree it is reasonably believed the force is immediately necessary to prevent or terminate the other’s trespass on the land or unlawful interference with the property,” Law & Crime reported.
Wright is being held at Rutherford County Detention Center on a $700,000 bond, Fox News reported. He is charged with aggravated burglary, attempted aggravated robbery, convicted felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent felony.
The case remains under investigation by the Murfreesboro Police Department Criminal Investigations Division. Wright is scheduled to appear in Rutherford County General Sessions Court on June 5.
Murfreesboro is located just southeast of Nashville and is home to approximately 150,000 people.
