A homeowner in Georgia shot and killed an intruder who broke into his home in the early hours of the morning.
The DeKalb County Police Department has launched an investigation after the fatal shooting, which took place at around 5.30am on Thursday, March 23.
Investigators have said the homeowner, who has not been named, caught a suspect attempting to break into his home and opened fire.
The suspect, who has also not been named, was rushed to hospital but died due to his injuries.
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The homeowner attended the police station for an interview on the morning of the shooting. He returned later that day but did not stop to speak to the gathered reporters and instead headed straight back inside his property.
According to Fox 5, the man will not face charges in relation to the shooting as he was defending himself and his home.
Georgia has Stand Your Ground laws, otherwise known as Castle Doctrine, that can protect citizens who use deadly force against home invaders.
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The law means that a person does not have a duty to retreat from a conflict before using force in their home.
Officials have not revealed if the homeowner had been targeted by the suspect or why he was attempting to break in and investigations are ongoing.
But one local resident claimed that ‘young guys are stalking the neighborhood at night, like 4-5 in the morning, they are checking doors’.
Neighbour Melan Sydnor, who lives across the street, said she was making breakfast at the time and heard gunshots ringing out.
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She told Fox 5 Atlanta: "I was in the kitchen and then there were gunshots and it was really loud.
"I heard a few gunshots and then about five minutes later the police pulled up."
Meanwhile, neighbour Sandy Mize said she didn’t hear anything, but that the incident hadn’t come as much of a surprise to her as the area has a ‘lot of crime’.
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She told the outlet: "We didn't hear any shots, but around here, there are guns going off all the time. Oh yeah, it's all the time. This is a bad neighborhood. Just a lot of crime."
Speaking about her neighbour, she added: “We knew he had guns.”
Another neighbour, who wasn’t named, told WSB-TV: “I just think it’s a sad state of affairs for the country.
“In this case, somebody having a gun was a good thing.”
Claire Reid