Neighbor overhears burglary in apartment complex, shoots intruder twice, police say
A 22-year-old man has been hospitalized after police say he was shot during a burglary attempt in unincorporated Belleville on Christmas Eve.
At 4:22 p.m. Tuesday, the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department responded to reports of a burglary in progress at 10 Elmway Court, a news release from Capt. Bruce Fleshren said.
When deputies arrived, they found a man with two gunshot wounds at the building. According to Fleshren, several people on scene said that the man had attempted to carjack a woman in the parking lot of the apartment complex by displaying a handgun.
The man, who has not been identified, was unsuccessful in the carjacking, Fleshren said. He fled into the building and broke through the window of an apartment, displaying the weapon again in a hold up inside the apartment.
A neighbor heard the commotion and came to the apartment armed, Fleshren said. He confronted the intruder, who was still armed with the gun, and shot him twice.
The suspect was taken to an unknown hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, Fleshren said.
Investigators remained on scene Tuesday evening to begin the follow-up investigation.
“The situation is secure at the apartment complex and the investigation is just beginning,” Fleshren said in the release. “It will take some time to determine exactly what happened and why this subject was committing the acts that he was. He apparently is not known to the residents who were involved in this event.”
This story was originally published December 24, 2019 at 5:53 PM.
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