A city commissioner shot a man in self-defense when he found him in inside his home in Palmetto, police said.
At about 10 p.m. Thursday, an officer was trying to stop a sedan that was seen driving recklessly in the 600 block of 4th Street West.
Police said the driver of the car, 22-year-old Avelino Misreal Vasquez-Perez, crashed into a home and ran away from the scene.
“The house started vibrating and there was a rumble, rumble, rumble, and then a big crash. He jumped out of bed and I came from the other room and said a car just hit the house,” said Terry Debaylo who lives at the home.
The passenger was detained and a chase began.
Police said Vasquez-Perez hopped a fence and broke into a home on Riverside Drive.
The homeowner, Brian Williams and his daughter were inside. She alerted her father to the break-in and he armed himself with a handgun, police said.
Williams confronted the suspect at gunpoint and ordered him to the ground as his daughter called 911.
“Essentially, he confronted this individual at the point when he tried going from the garage into the kitchen. Into the living area of the home. Mr. Williams told him, stop, put your hands up, get down, while his daughter is on the phone with police,” said Palmetto Police Chief Scott Tyler.
Police said Vasquez-Perez tried to punch Williams and push him out of the way, then Williams shot him twice. The suspect ran out of the home and was apprehended by police. He was rushed to Blake Medical Center, where he remains in stable condition.
Vasquez-Perez is charged with burglary, battery and resisting arrest without violence. He also faces traffic charges.
“Mr. Williams acted in self-defense and won’t face criminal charges,” police said in a statement.
“We find it was lawful, it was proper, it is self-defense. He’s in his own home. He’s in his kitchen. Basically, defending from someone coming in the kitchen, so he’s got a right and he’s got a responsibility to defend his home and his family and he did that,” Tyler added.
An investigation is ongoing.