A woman staying at an Airbnb on Sunset Ridge Road in West Jefferson shot a man after he allegedly kicked down the door and entered the home around 3 a.m. on Oct. 13. The man, later identified as 33-year-old Icon Christen of Long Branch, New Jersey, was hospitalized and then released — only to be arrested more than a week later on felony charges.
The Ashe County 911 Center received the report of the break-in early that morning, according to wataugaonline.com, which reported that the woman said she shot the suspect when he entered the residence. The Ashe County Sheriff's Office responded alongside Ashe Medics, West Jefferson Police Department and Jefferson Police Department. Authorities identified Christen as the same man involved in a domestic dispute with his wife the previous evening, the outlet reported.
Christen was taken to Ashe Memorial Hospital before being flown to Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, where he was later released, per the sheriff's office account relayed by the same outlet. The Ashe County Sheriff's Office then obtained warrants, and Christen was arrested and transported to the Ashe County Detention Center on Oct. 21. He was placed under no bond, the outlet's report noted.
Felony Burglary and Assault Charges Filed
Christen faces allegations of felony first-degree burglary and assault on a female, according to The Wilkes Record. He was charged with both felony first-degree burglary and assault on a female and remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Ashe County Sheriff Phil Howell addressed the shooting directly, saying that forcibly entering an occupied residence creates a dangerous situation with potentially serious consequences. He said he supports the Second Amendment and the right to protect oneself and one's family, adding that no one should have to fear for their safety inside their own home. Howell also said he supports the right to lawful self-defense, framing the goal as keeping Ashe County a safe place to live, work, and raise a family.
Domestic Dispute Call Came the Night Before
The night before the shooting, on Oct. 12, the Ashe County 911 Center received a domestic-dispute call from an out-of-town woman who reported that she and her husband were involved in an altercation. Ashe County Sheriff's deputies were assisting West Jefferson Police Department with that investigation and located the woman safely in woods behind the home, per the same account. Deputies then arranged transportation for her out of the county with family members.
That same evening, dispatch was stretched thin: the 911 center received 35 calls for service between 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. while training two new dispatchers, according to the report. As of Oct. 14, Ashe County's 911 call count for the year stood at 23,307, up 1,629 from the previous year's total of 21,618 — a sign of how busy the county's emergency lines have become even before this case.
Another Recent Ashe County Shooting
In a separate Ashe County incident, officers responded around 11:15 p.m. on May 18 to a domestic call involving a gunshot wound, and the victim was taken to a local hospital, according to qcnews.com. That case led to the arrest of 49-year-old Lee Alle Shaw, who was booked into the Ashe County Detention Center without bond on a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon causing serious injury. Authorities said the investigation remained ongoing and that more charges could be pending.
Cases of residents shooting intruders have drawn national attention elsewhere too. In Idaho, an 85-year-old woman named Christine Jenneiahn fatally shot an intruder identified as Derek Condon after he broke into her home around 2 a.m. on March 13 and threatened to kill her, according to NBC News. Jenneiahn shot Condon twice with a .357 Magnum, while Condon shot her multiple times with a 9 mm pistol before dying from his wounds.
North Carolina's self-defense statute, G.S. 14-51.2, is titled “Home, workplace, and motor vehicle protection; presumption of fear of death or serious bodily harm,” according to the North Carolina General Assembly. The statute's title alone does not determine how it applies to this case.
