Alleged squatter picks wrong house in Maryland, armed homeowner makes him pay top price
Police said they are investigating the shooting death of a home intruder by a homeowner in Baltimore on Saturday.
Baltimore County police said they were called to the 1000 block of Middlesex Road in the unincorporated community of Essex for reports of a shooting around 9:45 p.m.
When they arrived, they found a man with multiple gunshot wounds and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators said the man was trying to enter the home when the homeowner shot him.
The homeowner is not yet facing charges, but the shooting is under investigation.
Maryland Trial Attorney Randolph Rice said WBAL-TV that the state does not have a “Castle Doctrine”, but that property owners have the legal right to defend themselves if they feel threatened.
“What the courts have established and what the legislature has established is that there is self-defense with deadly force when it comes to your home,” Rice explained.
“If the homeowner believed that someone was coming into the house and posing that threat, perhaps with another weapon or some other device, or perhaps simply knowing that this person was a dangerous individual who could have caused harm in the past, then yes, the homeowner could use that deadly force to protect himself.”
A resident of the neighborhood, who wanted to remain anonymous, said she heard the gunshots but thought they were firecrackers.
“I’ve been living here for 56 years and this has changed in five years. It’s gone downhill,” he said. “The problems that are happening are driving everyone away. And I think it’s time for someone to do something to help us older people, because I don’t feel safe at all, anywhere.”
Essex is located in the central part of the state and has a population of about 40,000 people.
Here is the news about the incident:
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