Oceanside resident fatally shoots home invasion suspect

An Oceanside man fatally shot a 22-year-old intruder Monday night after the man allegedly entered his home and threw a rock, hitting the homeowner in the face, police said.

The shooting was reported shortly after 7:20 p.m. at a home on Diamond Circle near Olive Drive.

Officers responding to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon found the man suffering from a gunshot wound inside the home, police spokeswoman Heather Mitchell said.

Police said the intruder was carrying a 3-foot wooden stake and a rock when he entered through an open sliding door into a back bedroom. A woman was in the room.

“The suspect threw a rock at a male resident of the home, striking him in the face,” Mitchell said in a statement. “The male resident retrieved a firearm and shot the suspect.”

The owner, a 54-year-old man, fired the Glock pistol three times, hitting the intruder in the chest, she said.

Police and firefighters tried to revive the man, but he died before he could be taken to hospital. The homeowner who fired the gun suffered facial injuries and was treated at the scene, Mitchell said.

Police said they believe the same man walked through the yards of several homes in the area and may have tried to break into at least one of them. Someone used a rock to break a sliding glass window, but the residents were not home at the time, so it is not known if it was the same man or if he entered the premises, Mitchell said.

Detectives are in the early stages of the investigation and have not yet determined whether the shooting was in self-defense, Mitchell said.

The name of the man who died was not immediately released.

Monday’s shooting is the second time in less than a year that a North County resident has shot and killed an alleged intruder.

Around 5 a.m. Nov. 16, a man called 911 to report a person in the backyard of his home on York Drive near Santa Fe Avenue in Vista. While still on the phone, the caller told dispatchers that the person entered the home through a window.

Dispatchers then heard the resident fire a single shot. When deputies arrived at the scene, they found the thief fatally wounded.

City News Service contributed to this report.

Originally published: July 30, 2024 at 9:02 am