An apartment in the town of West Melbourne, Florida, was the scene of a break-in that went wrong for the pair of attackers when the resident realized what was happening and defended his property from them before it was too late, using a firearm to shoot one alleged intruder dead and wound the second.
That hair-raising incident occurred at 2 in the morning on Sunday, the 17th of September. Then, multiple home invaders, possibly armed, forced their way into one of the apartment units in the Reserves at Melbourne apartment complex with the obvious intent to do nothing good.
But, rather than finding riches and rewards ripe for the picking, they found themselves staring down the barrel of a firearm. The homeowner proceeded to open fire on the motley crew of would-be burglars, firing multiple rounds and hitting two of them. One was later pronounced dead at Holmes Regional Medical Center and the other is receiving treatment for the gunshot wound.
One resident, commenting on the incident and noting that it was very out of place, said, “God only knows what they were doing. You know, this is a nice development. It’s usually very quiet, and everybody watches out for each other. I hope they do something to make sure it does not happen anymore.”
Another neighbor of the would-be victim, who fortunately was able to defend himself, seemed to miss the point of the story, saying that she is against guns, as if it wasn’t a gun that saved the resident. She said, “I’m against guns. I think we really need to take a look at it, and we’re not. I just stay at home, stay out of the way.”
Posting about the incident on Facebook, the West Melbourne Police Department said, “Early this morning, patrol units responded to the Reserves of Melbourne apartment complex for a report of a shooting inside of an apartment. Upon arrival it was learned that multiple subjects, possibly armed with a firearm had forcefully entered the apartment. The homeowner, armed with a firearm fired multiple times striking two of the offenders. One subject was transported from the scene and was pronounced at Holmes Regional. Another showed up at the hospital and is currently being treated.”
Continuing, it added, “This is an ongoing investigation. Detectives are working to determine the events leading up to the incident and any relationship between the persons involved. If anyone has information about this incident they can contact the West Melbourne Police Department 321-723-9673 or Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS (8477).”
In a later update, the police department said, “Update on the homicide investigation at the Reserves of Melbourne. At this time we are still not identifying the individuals involved in the shooting on Launch Ct. We did want to reassure the public this does not appear to be a random act and the individuals involved are known to each other. Detectives are conducting additional interviews, obtaining search warrants and working to connect all the events leading up to the incident. We are working closely with the State Attorney’s office on any charges that may be filed in the coming days.”
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