An American hero in leftist-run San Francisco showed a criminal intruder what happens when you mess with a Vietnam War veteran.
Shortly after 5 a.m. Saturday, the veteran was asleep on the third floor of his house when strange noises woke him from the floors below. He grabbed his handgun and went downstairs to investigate.
What he found was not a random smash-and-grab.
According to CBS News Bay Area, the masked suspect had already cased the block. Neighbor surveillance video showed the man walking back and forth on 22nd Avenue about 40 minutes before the break-in.
Then he drilled a hole through the wooden first-floor door, unlocked it, and forced his way inside.
The dangerous intruder didn’t come alone. He was accompanied by a 60-pound husky.
“He had a large dog, maybe a 60-pound husky, with him,” the veteran told CBS News.
The burglar grabbed him. The 73-year-old was knocked to his hands and knees. Then the veteran fired one shot.
“I encountered [the burglar] face to face. He kind of grabbed me, and I fell to my hands and knees, and I shot him because physically I felt really threatened. He had already made a deep intrusion into my home,” he said.
He believes the round struck the suspect in the buttocks.
The intruder ran, leaving a trail of blood-stained shoe prints toward Golden Gate Park, and leaving the dog behind. The veteran suffered only minor scrapes to his hands and knees. No charges have been announced against the homeowner.
A short time later, San Francisco police detained an injured man about three miles away near Geary Boulevard and 47th Avenue in the Outer Richmond. Paramedics took him to San Francisco General Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police said they will take him into custody if they confirm he is the burglary suspect. He could face burglary and other charges.
The abandoned husky was later taken by Animal Control.
The veteran’s next-door neighbor, who identified himself only as Michael, told CBS the outcome did not surprise him.
“Our neighbor is really something special. I’m glad that he was able to do this. But it doesn’t surprise me,” Michael said. “He’s definitely got a heroic side to him. He’s a real, true vet.”
The veteran is still shaken.
“I had a little help from a friend, just a little friend,” he said of the handgun. “But I’m just kind of really shook up still.”
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