California homeowner fatally shoots intruder armed with wooden stake and rock

A California man shot and killed an intruder who broke into his home with a wooden stake.

Police with the Oceanside Police Department responded to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon at a home in Oceanside, reported Fox 5 San Diego. A 22-year-old man attempted to enter the home around 7:20 p.m. armed with a rock and three-foot wooden stake.

The intruder tried to get inside via an open window adjacent to the back yard. There was a woman inside that room at the time, and a male occupant was also in the home.

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Police spokesperson Heather Mitchell said in a statement: “The suspect threw a rock at a male resident of the home, striking him in the face. The male resident retrieved a firearm and shot the suspect.”

The homeowner, 54, fired three shots, one in his chest. Officers arrived at the scene shortly after and attempted CPR on the intruder, but he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the San Diego Union-tribune.

Mitchell said the homeowner suffered injuries to his face and was treated at the scene.

The name of the man has not been revealed. Police believe he walked in the backyards of several homes in the neighborhood, potentially having tried to enter at least one of them.

One home had a window shattered with a rock, but it’s not known if that was done by the same man.

Mitchell told KUSI: “It was not determined if the suspect did enter the residence and those residents were not home at the time.”

Detectives are still determining if the shooting was self-defense, Mitchell said.