Don Lutz, an 84-year-old Korean War veteran of Ellport, Penn., told police he fired one shot at the two intruders who broke into his home Thursday, killing one of them while the other ran off.
Don Lutz said he knew “God was with him” when he heard intruders busting into his home in Ellport, Penn., he told WTAE.
The 84-year-old Korean War Veteran sleeps with a gun under his pillow, and grabbed the weapon before springing out of bed to confront his unwanted guests, CBS Pittsburgh reported.
“Woken up to them busting in on my front door, and I went out in the hallway in the dark, and I met this one guy, and he went to grab me and that’s when I shot him,” he told CBS Pittsburgh.
He said he “scuffled” with the two intruders on the floor, then he fired one shot in the dark that killed one of the intruders, WPXI reports. The other ran off after the shot was fired and is not in police custody.
He told WPXI that “he’s a little sore” after the fight.
Neither of the intruders’ identities or descriptions have been released to the public, according to WTAE. Lutz will not be charged as police are calling this a “justified shooting” after questioning him at the station.
The investigation is still ongoing, CBS Pittsburgh reports.
Pennsylvania, like many other states, has “Stand Your Ground” laws to protect people acting out in self defense. Under the law, the use of force in self defense is justifiable if “immediately necessary for the purpose of protecting himself against the use of unlawful force by such other person on the present occasion.”
A lot of people on social media are praising Lutz for his quick actions.
“Kudos to the elderly man… They probably thought he was an easy target because he is elderly but the man showed them real quick,” a reader wrote on Facebook.
Others were conflicted with showing praise.
“This guy was protecting himself, and he has no idea what might have happened if he didn’t. I don’t fault him. But he still took a human life,” another person wrote.
