Homeowner surprises burglar carrying infant; fires warning shot
Earlier today, two men, one of whom had his one year old son with him, were attempting to steal from a home on Poplar lane.
When the homeowner came to confront the thieves, the suspect used his son as a shield.
“I saw a strange car over there. The more I looked at it, the more I thought about it. He was in the driveway first and then he backed up to the door.”
Joe Hicks knew something was wrong. He called his neighbor to ask if anyone should be at his house.
“He said he’d be there in a minute and he was,” said Hicks.
When the homeowner arrived, he confronted the two men. Police say the he fired two warning shots. One of suspects was holding his one year old son, using him as a shield.
Hicks said, “He started running, he had a wrap down low. I had no idea it was a baby.”
Adamsville police chief R.W. Carter says the two suspects fled on foot.
“The whole thing is bizarre,” said Carter. “Why would you take a baby to a burglary?”
Why indeed? I can only imagine the lowest of the low doing something that despicable.
Normally, we do not advocate to fire warning shots for numerous reasons which we have pointed out in the past. But in this case, it was probably best.
The burglar, once caught, actually used his child as a human shield to prevent the homeowner from putting him down.
So in this case, we appreciate the homeowner for showing some restraint and calmness, and not opening fire while a baby was involved.
Another thing to note is that the neighbor called the homeowner to let him know, who said he would arrive in just a minute; which he did.
Had the neighbor called the police, how long would it have taken them to get there?
The police do a fantastic job and respond as fast as they can. However, sometimes that is just not fast enough.
Having a firearm for protection of yourself and your home is the fastest way to stop something bad from happening to you or your property.
