DETROIT (AP) - Detroit police Chief James Craig defended the right of people to use guns to protect themselves Wednesday, hours after a man fired a rifle at a young man and woman who were breaking into his home, killing one and wounding the other.
It happened about 5:45 a.m. on the city’s west side after the 19-year-old burglars broke a window and tried to enter, according to police spokesman Sgt. Michael Woody, The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press reported.
The male burglar’s body was found nearby and the woman was hospitalized in critical condition. Police were holding the 47-year-old homeowner, who was uninjured, and prosecutors will determine if the shooting was justified.
At an afternoon news conference, Craig declined comment on the details of Wednesday shootings, the latest of several in which homeowners have killed burglars. But he said residents have a need and a right to defend themselves.
“Detroiters are fed up,” Craig told reporters. “They’re fed up with violence.”
“In terms of self-defense shootings, if we have probable cause to arrest we will. “It’s the prosecutor’s decision whether or not a shooting is deemed self-defense. When someone is confronted with an imminent threat to life they have the lawful right to defend themselves and I stand by that. That’s the law that’s been in effect more than 200 years.”
In Flint, police said a homeowner shot two men trying to break into his home about 5 a.m. Wednesday. Police say one man was critically hurt and the other was in good condition.
Flint police spokesman Jason Lorenz says authorities are investigating if the shooting was justified.
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