Chilling 911 call: Seattle homeowner fatally shoots burglar

Thursday, May 2, 2019
911 call details armed Seattle homeowner fatally shooting burglar
The deadly encounter between an armed homeowner and a burglar is detailed in a dramatic 911 call released this week.

SEATTLE (KABC) -- The deadly encounter between an armed homeowner and a burglar was detailed in a dramatic 911 call released this week.

You can hear the fear in the homeowner's voice. It was before 3 a.m. He says he heard a window break, then footsteps inside his house. He called 911, grabbed his gun and hid.

"911, what are you reporting?" the dispatcher asks

"Yeah, my house is getting robbed right now," the homeowner says.

"Are you armed?" the dispatcher asks.

"Yeah, I have a gun," the homeowner replies.

The dispatcher, on the job only a few weeks, stays on the phone. Police are on the way.

"Is that crashing I hear behind you, is that them?" the dispatcher asks.

"Yeah, they broke the window out," the homeowner says.

The suspect is moving closer.

"Do they know you're there?" says the dispatcher.

"No, I don't think so," the homeowner tells her.

"OK, OK, stay quiet, OK? Keep yourself safe," she says.

After four minutes on the phone with the dispatcher, you hear popping sounds.

"I heard shots, what happened?" the dispatcher asks.

"I had to shoot him. He came after me. I'm hiding in my closet in my bedroom," says the homeowner.

The intruder is heard moaning in the background. The homeowner says he believes one other suspect has left.

"Did the person that you shot, did he leave?" the dispatcher asks.

"No, he's here on the ground. He's hurt," the homeowner replies.

Police arrive to find the 29-year-old burglar dead. He is unarmed

"It was definitely nerve-wracking but I think at the end of the day, training kind of kicked in," the dispatcher said in an interview.

The King County Sheriff's Office says the homeowner will not face any charges since he was acting in self-defense.