Boy, 11, shoots home invader
The Palmview child returned fire after being wounded by the intruder
PALMVIEW — An 11-year-old boy shot a man who broke into his home north of the city early Friday.
Three men burst into the house near the intersection of Minnesota Road and 8 Mile Line just before 12:30 a.m., Hidalgo County sheriff’s deputies said.
The child and his mother were hiding in a bedroom when the gunmen tried to force their way in. One of the men shot through the door, striking the boy in the groin area.
The child, who was carrying a .22-caliber rifle, shot back, hitting one of the criminals in the neck. The men fled the scene shortly thereafter, investigators said.
Both the boy and the injured attacker remained hospitalized Friday afternoon. Authorities said the child was in stable condition and was expected to make a full recovery.
The wounded burglar was transferred to a San Antonio hospital under police guard.
Deputies have detained two other men believed to be involved in the attack.
____
Jeremy Roebuck covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.
____
Texas Senate Bill 378, which Republican Gov. Rick Perry signed into law March 27, 2007, extended a person’s right to use deadly force for self-defense beyond the home to vehicles and workplaces. The law took effect Sept. 1, 2007, and allows for the reasonable use of deadly force when an intruder is doing one or more of the following:
>> Committing certain violent crimes, such as murder or sexual assault, or is attempting to commit such crimes.
>> Unlawfully trying to enter a protected place.
>> Unlawfully trying to remove a person from a protected place.
The law also provides civil immunity for a person who lawfully uses deadly force in these circumstances. The use of deadly force is not lawful when it is used to provoke or if the victim commits a crime other than a Class C misdemeanor.
Source: Office of Gov. Rick Perry
