A Del Rio homeowner says he woke up to a strange noise coming from his living room, walked out to investigate, and found a man he didn't know standing inside his house. He grabbed his gun, fired, and struck the intruder — who then ran off into the night before officers could arrive.
Police were called to the 200 block of Ricks Drive on Saturday to investigate a residential burglary involving gunfire, according to WOAI. Officers made contact with the homeowner, who told them he had been roused by an unusual noise from his living room before he encountered the unfamiliar man inside his residence. He reported discharging his firearm once he discovered the intruder, and said he fired at the man and struck him.
Despite the gunshot wound, the suspect managed to flee the property before police arrived on scene, according to the same account. Officers searched the surrounding area and eventually located him. He was then transported to San Antonio for further medical treatment because of his injuries, per the report.
Investigation Continues as Charges Remain Pending
The Del Rio Police Department's Criminal Investigations Division has taken over the case and continues investigating the circumstances of the break-in. Criminal charges against the suspect are pending while that work continues, the station's report notes. Police have not released the identities of either the homeowner or the suspect, nor detailed the suspect's exact medical condition.
The Del Rio case lands amid a string of similar confrontations across Texas this month. In Mesquite, a suspected burglar was shot by a resident after allegedly entering a home early one Saturday morning, according to CBS Texas. Police there responded to a shooting around 4:15 a.m. in the 2600 block of Brushwood Lane and found a man outside the residence with a gunshot wound.
Residents in that case told Mesquite police they'd woken to loud banging sounds before one of them went to investigate, saw someone entering the home, and opened fire, striking the man. Police identified the suspect as Arthur Alonzo and took him into custody on a charge of burglary of a habitation before he, too, was taken to a hospital.
A Deadlier Outcome in Lytle
Just weeks earlier, a homeowner in Lytle fatally shot a 36-year-old man who forced his way into the house after fleeing a disturbance at another residence, according to the San Antonio Express-News. Police said the intruder had no connection to that residence and that the home appeared to have been selected at random.
Investigators there said the intruder cornered the homeowner, who fired at him in self-defense. The man was pronounced dead at the scene, and police did not say whether he had been armed.
No such outcome has been reported in the Del Rio case, where the suspect survived his wound and is now receiving treatment in San Antonio. Del Rio police have not released further details about what charges, if any, the homeowner might face, or whether formal charges have been filed against the suspect as the investigation moves forward.
