Who says retired citizens can’t still be valuable members of society?

A retired Berkeley County deputy in Ridgeville, NC was able to help out his fellow law enforcement officers when he shot and wounded a burglar in his home, according to the State Law Enforcement Division.

Thom Berry, SLED spokesman, said the shooting occurred at a home on Poplar Hill Drive, confirming a call from Berkeley County authorities came in at 7:45 a.m. Wednesday morning.

A man who lives nearby said he heard and saw a majority of what unfolded early Wednesday morning.

He said it was around 7 a.m. when he heard a man and woman arguing with each other.

“She be like, come back, come back,” he said. “She just kept calling his name. I didn’t know what was going on, I thought it was just couples arguing, but when he got right here in this yard, something wasn’t right.”

The neighbor said he watched as the man ran up the former deputy’s driveway and shortly after, heard a gunshot.

Berry said the former deputy shot the 16-year-old intruder in the leg after finding the person in his home.

“About a minute, thirty seconds after he went in the yard, POW!” said the neighbor. “[The woman] starts screaming, why you shoot, why you shoot? He [was] like, he’s in my yard, he’s in my house.”

The teen was transported to MUSC with non-life-threatening injuries.

The sheriff’s office called in SLED because the shooting involved one of their retired deputies, Chief Deputy Mike Cochran said.

“All of us in this area know… when he was policeman and retired and all that,” the neighbor said. “So when he went over there… the dude was wrong. He ain’t supposed to be over there.”

Berry confirmed the incident is under investigation, but no charges have been filed against the former deputy at this time.

The victim, who walked from a trailer home a mere 100 yards from the deputy’s home, is expected to survive.