Crime

Fighting Back: 2 More Intruders Die In Detroit Self-Defense Surge

March 26, 2014, 7:53 AM

A 51-year-old homeowner Tuesday fatally shot two men trying to enter his west-side house near Livernois and the Lodge Freeway. It's the latest in a string of self-defense shootings this year, George Hunter reports in The Detroit News.


The same home had been broken into four days earlier, police say. (Photo via Fox 2)

The incident happened on 800 block of Dexter at a home where police responded to a break-in last Friday, Detroit Police Sgt. Michael Woody said.

Woody said the homeowner heard a commotion near his side window at about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday on the 14800 block of Dexter. The man decided to go out the back door to see what was happening in his driveway.

When the resident spotted the two men in their 20s, a fight ensued. The homeowner reached for his handgun and opened fire, killing both.

The homeowner has a concealed pistol license, Woody said.

The Dexter resident is a City of Detroit buys mechanic, Eric D. Lawrence  writes in the Free Press.

Sgt. Woody tells Maurielle Lue of Fox 2: "Detroiters have had it. Chief Craig has often said good Americans that are legally in possession of firearms are defending their homes, and they have the right to do that, and we stand behind them in doing so."

A number of home invaders have been shot or fired at in recent weeks in the city. As of March 17, it had eight justifiable homicides in 2014.

In 2012, the last year for which national figures are available, there were 25 justifiable homicides in Detroit, which made up 8 percent of the 310 seen nationwide. Last year, there were 15 justifiable homicides in the city, The News reports Wednesday.

Detroit Police Chief James Craig said at a press conference last week that in his 37-year career, he’s never seen as many homeowners defending themselves by shooting intruders. Craig told The News in January he felt the crime rate could be lowered if more “good Americans” were armed, because he said criminals would think twice about attacking them. . . .

“It’s horrific what’s going on in the city, where people have to defend their homes with guns,” said the Rev. Barak Holmes of Diverse Deliverance, who lives near the house where Tuesday’s shootings occurred and heard four shots.

“We have to pray for our city.”

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Read more:  The Detroit News


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