SPANAWAY, Wash. — A Pierce County man is dead after a homeowner said he was trying to break into his house.
Deputies discovered the alleged intruder was armed.
The deadly shooting happened in the 16000 block of 13th Avenue Court East in Spanaway just before 2 a.m. on Sunday.
Pierce County Sheriff’s deputies say the homeowner called 911, saying someone was banging at his back door, trying to break in.
“Deputies arrived within minutes in the neighborhood,” said Deputy Carly Cappetto." They did find a 36-year-old male on the back porch that had suffered from one gunshot wound. They attempted life-saving measures. And fire arrived and performed life-saving measures. But unfortunately, that male did succumb to his injuries.“
The homeowner later shot the alleged intruder.
The man’s mother identified him as Russell Terry, a father of five.
He was living with his grandmother, who had moved to the neighborhood nearly 30 years ago.
Terry was a plumber who relatives say was “deeply loved.”
Relatives also said the two men knew each other, that their children had played together.
Investigators say it looks like a case of self-defense.
Neighbor Ameer Hall said he heard the gunshots.
Hall says that most loud popping noises here were often fireworks.
In fact, he thought that it was fireworks this time too.
“It sounded like a gun,” Hall said. “But I didn’t believe it. I’m like ‘not in this neighborhood.’”
Neighbors said that Terry was caught on their Ring camera just moments before the shooting, banging on their doors, too.
Deputy Cappetto says there is surveillance video that also supports the homeowner’s accounts of what happened that morning.
The homeowner wasn’t arrested.
Cappetto says detectives don’t believe what the homeowner did is a crime.
“So, at this time, we are not looking at arresting the homeowner,” she said. “And this is being investigated as a case of self-defense.”
The Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office will decide whether to file charges against the homeowner.
We tried to reach out to speak with the homeowner, but he declined to talk.
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