An incident late Sunday night in Buckeye has left one man dead after he was shot while allegedly trying to break into a home. The altercation occurred just before 9 p.m. near Yuma and Watson roads, and the suspect was later identified as 27-year-old Michael Diaz, according to AZ Family. A mother and her two adult children were at home when they heard banging on the door, which escalated when Diaz reportedly attempted to force his way inside after a woman answered.
Responding to the sounds of forced entry, the woman's son confronted the intruder, discharging his handgun multiple times as Diaz broke through the security door, according to information from ABC15. No family members were injured during the incident. Nearby neighbors, CeCe and Enrique Lopez, also had an encounter with a man matching Diaz's description on Friday night who had come knocking on their door, leaving when he did not receive a response.
On Sunday night, the same man reportedly returned, causing the Lopez's dogs to react loudly. Enrique Lopez, after checking the door to find the visitor gone, heard four gunshots while attempting to see where the man might have gone. In a statement obtained by AZ Family, CeCe Lopez relayed the compromising situation, "What do you do? You know what I mean? You're not just gonna let someone come into your home, and you're certainly not going to let someone hurt my dogs."
Clarification on the legality of the incident was provided by Howard Snader, a Senior Criminal Attorney for Attorneys for Freedom. He explained that the case appears to be in alignment with the Castle Doctrine, where individuals have "an absolute right to protect yourself, your family from an intruder in your own residence," as he told AZ Family. Snader further stipulated the complexities of self-defense claims if an individual were outside of the home when shooting, detailing that defends oneself comes with significant risk.
