An Arizona man shot and killed a home invader after the intruder charged him with a piece of wood on Wednesday evening. Scottsdale police were called to a home on the city’s northeast side just before 11 p.m. on a shots fired call. Homeowner Aaron Latowsky, a local urologist, was working on his property when his dog Sadie began barking inside the home. He told Fox 10 in Phoenix that it was a little unusual for the pooch to behave that way, so he decided to check things out.
“So I came inside, and I saw one of our side doors was open and she was barking down the hall towards my kids’ bedrooms,” said Aaron.
The rest of the family was asleep at the time. Right away, LaTowsky says he grabbed his shotgun.
“We never would have known,” said Aaron’s wife, Brenda LaTowsky. “We would have continued to sleep and sleep through it. so I’m just so thankful.”
LaTowsky went into his daughter’s room, where he says the suspect came out with a large piece of wood, his face masked and his body naked.
LaTowsky says as the naked stranger lunged at him, he fired twice. Both shots hit the intruder, who dropped to the ground. Paramedics were unable to revive the suspect, but LaTowsky and his family were uninjured.
“God Bless America and the Second Amendment,” said Aaron. “Glad I was able to protect my family. God bless the police for coming so quick to take care of us.”
So far, police haven’t released the identity of the suspect, but describe him as an 18 or 19-year old man. LaTowsky isn’t facing any charges in the shooting, and while the investigation continues, it sounds like a pretty clear-cut case of self-defense.
Kudos to LaTowsky for being prepared to defend his family. He told Fox 10 that this is the first time his home has ever been broken into, and things could have turned out far worse for everyone inside the home if not for the fact that LaTowsky was able to access a firearm and use it in self-defense. We don’t yet know why the suspect chose LaTowsky’s home, or why he was naked in a child’s bedroom, but he clearly wasn’t there for any good reason.
The Scottsdale defensive gun use was one of at least three home invasions across the country thwarted by armed citizens this week. In Vineyard, Utah, police say a man shot and killed an intruder in self-defense after a group of six men came to his apartment intent on robbing the resident.
Robert Jalil Williams, 20, of Salt Lake City, was fatally wounded Tuesday after Utah County sheriff’s deputies say he and a group of at least six others attempted to rob a Vineyard resident.
Police were originally called to the Concord at Geneva apartments, 125 N. Mill Road, about 6:20 p.m. A group of several people listed as homeless in a police affidavit had traveled from Salt Lake City to Vineyard “to rob and assault the intended resident,” whom they believe had previously assaulted one of their friends, the affidavit states.
The man living in the apartment shot and killed Williams.
“This appears to be an act of self-defense,” Utah County Sheriff’s Sgt. Spencer Cannon said Friday.
And in Union County, South Carolina, a man wanted on warrants for domestic violence and assault was shot and killed after he kicked in the door of his ex-girlfriend’s home and began shooting.
Taylor said deputies found [Victor] Hair lying on a weapon when they arrived. Hair had been shot while inside the home after he kicked open the front door brandishing a weapon.
Two children, a man and a woman were inside the home when Hair broke into it, Taylor said. The woman ran down toward the bedroom when Hair started firing his weapon.
Taylor said Hair was met in the hallway by Antwan Manquel Booker, 34, of Union who exchanged gunfire with him. Hair was struck by gunfire and ran from the home falling in the front yard where he died.
Deputies had outstanding warrants on Hair for domestic violence third degree and two counts of assault and battery third degree. Taylor said deputies had been unable to locate Hair and the woman living at the house where the shooting occurred had changed the locks because she was in fear of her and her children’s safety.
Taylor said information about the shooting was taken to Assistant Solicitor John Anthony who reviewed the case. It was then determined Booker had been invited to the house and had the right to be in the home and that the shooting was in self defense.
We’re constantly told by gun control advocates that there’s no reason for anyone to own a gun, and it’s silly to think that someone without years of law-enforcement experience could ever protect themselves with a firearm. Try telling that to Aaron LaTowsky or Antwan Booker, because their stories could have had a much more tragic outcome if they had been disarmed and defenseless.
