An Indiana man is alive after he took a gun from an alleged, would-be robber and shot him to death with it during a botched home invasion earlier this week, according to a report.
Not only did the homeowner wrestle a gun away from his own assailant, but he also exchanged gunfire with a number of other men who were just outside.
Brent Smith of Indianapolis was sitting inside his home in the city at around 7 p.m. on Tuesday evening when a man police identified as Damon Swanigan forced his way in, Indianapolis’ Fox affiliate WXIN reported.
Per Smith, the suspect smacked him in the head with a pistol and told him he was being robbed. He told WXIN how the perilous situation unfolded.
“He smacked me in the head with a gun and told me I knew what it was, and then I yelled out he’s trying to rob me,” Smith said.
Smith said he immediately went after the man and that during a fight, the pair crashed through a glass table.
“It was like a movie, me and him wrestling over the gun,” Smith recalled.
The man said he was able to get ahold of the alleged robber’s firearm, which he used to shoot the man.
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The gunshot sparked a volley of shots from outside — presumably from Swanigan’s associates in the front yard.
“When the gun went off I heard thousands of gunshots,” Smith told WXIN. “It was a lot of gunfire man, a lot of gunfire.”
As gunfire was exchanged, Smith eventually retrieved his own gun and fired back at those in front of his home.
He said eventually the men left in a hurry, but not before they riddled the front of his home and a parked car with bullet holes.
Swanigan died on Smith’s front porch.
“I didn’t even think them or me. I was just basically trying to survive myself, man,” Smith said of the young man’s death.
He also lamented that he was put into a position to kill another man.
“That doesn’t make no sense, man,” he said. “I didn’t want to do that.”
He added, “I don’t know his intention, but I didn’t want to be shot. That’s just all there is to it.”
Police detained Smith for several hours after the shooting, but he was later released with no charges filed against him.
Meanwhile, police are still seeking the other men involved in the deadly would-be robbery.
Indiana is a castle doctrine state, meaning Smith had no duty to run from an armed man inside his home.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing. Police have not said how many suspects they are looking for.
