85-year-old man shoots, kills home intruder
This is just NW of Pittsburgh.
ELLPORT, Pa. - An elderly man shot and killed one of two intruders at his home early Friday morning in Ellport, Lawrence County, police said.
The 85-year-old man, Don Lutz, was confronted by the intruders about 1:30 a.m. at his Jamison Avenue home, authorities said. An altercation followed.
RAW VIDEO: Man describes home invasion shooting
“I just fired one. It was in the dark. He attacked me and he was up close and I shot him,” Lutz said. “They jumped me and we both went on the floor. I scuffled with them on the floor and the one guy rolled over dead and the other guy, he jumped up and went out the door.”
Police are searching for the second intruder who ran off.
“The other one, maybe the bullet hit him, too. I don’t know. I hope so,” Lutz said.
Lutz said he keeps his gun under his pillow and was in bed when the intruders broke through his front door.
“I ran into this guy. He grabbed me and the bullet went through his chest, went clean through him. The other guy must have been behind him,” Lutz said.
Police couldn’t find the bullet, which they said might have hit the second intruder.
Investigators believe Lutz might have been targeted. Police have been at his home in the past for other incidents.
Lutz said he’s a little sore after the ordeal, but has no regrets. He credits his faith with keeping him safe.
“I've never been afraid in my life. God has always been with me and I'm a hard believer in God and Jesus Christ,” Lutz said.
http://www.wpxi.com/news/top-stories/i-just-fired-one-85-year-old-man-shoots-kills-home-intruder/660608350
Ellport man shoots, kills home intruder
ELLPORT — Every night, Don Lutz sleeps with his .380 pistol under his pillow.That action saved his life Friday morning, Lutz believes.
“If not, I might have been killed,” Lutz said. “I think they wanted money for drugs probably.”
Two unidentified men broke into the 84-year-old’s home around 1:20 a.m. Friday, Ellwood City police Lt. David Kingston said. Lutz shot and killed one of the intruders.
Inside the home on Jamison Avenue, there’s no sign of the struggle or death that happened less than 12 hours earlier. Lutz sat in his kitchen, just next to where the first intruder died, holding his injured right arm and retelling the story of how he came out of his bedroom to find two men in the hallway.
The first man went to grab him, and Lutz shot him. He said he believes the bullet might have struck both men.
?(The first man) grabbed me; he was still alive,” Lutz said. “He and the other guy grabbed me and pulled me down on the floor here, and we rolled around on the floor, scuffling. The one the bullet went through, he got up and he fell over here dead.”
Lutz said the bullet went “clean through” the first intruder. Lutz was on the ground, his arm bleeding, when the second intruder realized his partner was dead.
“The other guy called his name – I forget what his name was,” Lutz said, “but was saying, ‘You alright, you alright?’
“He was dead.”
Kingston said police have not identified the second intruder and, as of Friday afternoon, had not released the identity of the first intruder.
Lutz said he’s had a gun permit for as long as he can remember and advocates for people to carry.
“I don’t carry it all the time, but I probably should carry it more,” he said. “I’m a hard believer of guns – not gun control. We should never stop law-abiding people from having guns.”
Late Friday morning, his gun was on his hip in a light brown holster as he assessed the damage to his home.
The front door likely will have to be replaced. Currently, there’s a large piece of cardboard over the window that the intruders broke to turn the bolt and open the door. He’s lived in Ellport for more than 30 years and won’t let this incident slow him down.
Lutz said he isn’t one to want notoriety – he’s a former gymnast and is a musician. In his living room sit four guitars; he loves playing Elvis Presley songs and wanted to start a country band a few years back but couldn’t find a good drummer. He spent 42 years working for Armstrong World Industries in Beaver Falls, where he was a union executive.
Lutz said his nephew called him first thing Friday morning after hearing about what happened on the morning news. He’s checked in with family, letting his sister and brother-in-law know he was OK.
Now, he just hopes police find the other man who broke into his home.
“If he wasn’t dead, I’d have shot him again. I dropped my gun or I would have shot the other one,” Lutz said. “I just hope they find the other guy; I’d like to hunt him down myself.”
Kingston said it’s unlikely Lutz will face charges for the shooting.
“At this time, it seems to be justified,” he said. “But we’ll send it up to the district attorney just to be safe.”
Kingston said he believes this is the first homicide in the Ellwood City area since 2015.
http://www.ellwoodcityledger.com/news/20171208/ellport-man-shoots-kills-home-intruder/1 |
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