A 75-year-old Tulsa homeowner shot and killed a man trying to break into his home on Tuesday, according to police.
Police responded to a call at 12:30 p.m., the Tulsa Police Department posted on Facebook.
“When Officers arrived, they discovered that the elderly homeowner shot a burglary suspect who had climbed through the back window and was inside his house,” the post said.
“After being shot, the male suspect jumped out of the window, ran to the front of the house, then collapsed.
“When first responders arrived, the burglary suspect was pronounced dead.”
According to the Tulsa World, the resident reported that he had heard other voices in his house and feared that there was more than one intruder.
Police searched the house but found no evidence of any other intruders.
The man attempting to enter the house was identified as Scotty Villines, 32, according to KJRH-TV.
The homeowner was questioned by police before being released.
Do you support “stand your ground” laws?
Members of the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office would not speak specifically about the case, but noted to KWTV-TV that Oklahoma has a “stand your ground” law.
Erik Grayless, the first assistant district attorney, said a person “who is rightfully in a place where they live like a residence, a business or a place of worship has a right to stand their ground, and they’re not required to retreat from a person who’s breaking in — a person who’s trying to commit a felony against them.”
“The law presumes you were scared so you don’t have to subjectively prove that you were afraid,” he said.
There are some gray areas in the law, he noted.
“Can someone use deadly force against someone who’s on their grass? It’s gonna depend on the individual facts and circumstances of the case. I think the law is very clear that if you are home or coming into your home … that does very specifically fit into the law,” he said.
Across America, homeowners rely on the Second Amendment for protection, as noted by Amy Swearer in an Op-Ed for The Heritage Foundation.
“The right to keep and bear arms is based on the natural, immutable right to defend oneself and one’s liberties from crime and tyranny,” she wrote. “Unfortunately, too many well-intentioned people today advocate severely restricting the ability of law-abiding Americans to defend themselves and others with the most effective firearms.”
“Americans use guns in self-defense on far more occasions than criminals use them to commit crimes. Yet those defensive gun uses rarely receive the amount of attention given to criminal gun uses,” she said, calling everyday Americans who defend their homes “underreported good guys using a gun.”
