OCEANSIDE, Calif. — A man was shot and killed by a person inside a home he tried to break into Oceanside Police said.
It happened Monday at 7:22 p.m. in the 4100 block of Diamond Circle.
Heather Mitchell, the public information officer for the Oceanside Police Department, said a man and a woman were inside the home when a man they did not know entered through a sliding door.
The suspect, who was armed with a rock and a stick, entered the bedroom through a sliding door where the woman was, Mitchell said.
He then threw the rock at the man inside the house, striking him in the face.
The man grabbed a gun and fired three times at the suspect, hitting him once in the chest, killing him.
Mitchell said prior to the deadly shooting, the suspect had to tried to break into other homes in the area.
Sue Tran lives on the street where the shooting took place. She saw the aftermath of the shooting.
"I just pulled up and saw the wife of this occupant’s home run out through her garage screaming, and all my neighbors came out and told me that there was someone was trying to pluck through my back fence and my neighbor’s fence," Tran said.
Jose Alamilla is another neighbor near the house where the invasion happened. He wasn't home at the time of the shooting, but his back sliding door was shattered when he went inside. He said there was glass trailing through his house, but no items were taken. He believes the intruder entered his backyard through a hole in the fence, then broke his back door and left through the front door.
Tran showed CBS 8 security camera video of the intruder. He was holding what appeared to be a large stake and was wearing what looked similar to a hospital bracelet. Tran said the rock he threw at the male occupant was about a 20 inch stone he took from another neighbor's yard.
Oceanside Police described the intruder as a Hispanic male around 22-years-old.
"It definitely could’ve been my house, considering that he broke part of my fence, yeah it could’ve been me," Tran said.
Neighbors are on high alert after the invasion, many getting more cameras and increasing security in their quiet Oceanside neighborhood.
"I’m scared, the homeless situation is getting worse, I do find random people walking through this clean, safe neighborhood from time to time and I just don’t think it’s getting any better," Tran said.
Oceanside Police said there is no imminent threat to public safety and the investigation is ongoing.