A Gainesville, Florida man sleeping on his couch around 4:30 a.m. Saturday morning was awakened when two criminals burst into his home. One of the suspects opened fire with a pistol, striking the victim in the face.
A woman in a separate part of the residence heard the gunshots and the victim’s screams and quickly grabbed a gun of her own from a nearby closet. Rushing to the living room, she saw the armed burglars and fired a shot, hitting one of them in the groin.
The wounded suspect staggered out the front door and collapsed on the lawn while the second suspect fled on foot.
The female inside the home called 911. Police arrived to find the male suspect still on the front lawn with his pistol close by. After being treated at a hospital, he was booked into Alachua County Jail on multiple charges including home invasion and attempted murder.
This was the second home invasion involving a shooting this month in Gainesville. In neither case, did the residence have a home security system installed.
A monitored home alarm system could have scared away the intruders by triggering an audible siren the moment they broke into the home. It also would have notified police immediately, enabling them to arrive on
scene more quickly.
