One man is dead and another on the run after they were greeted by an armed pregnant woman in Florida, who protected her family, police say.
Bay News 9 reports that Jeremy King, his wife, and daughter were at their Lithia home off of Old Welcome Road on Wednesday night when two armed men wearing masks burst in and demanded, “everything you got.”
“I’ve got a fractured eye socket, a fractured sinus cavity, a concussion, 20 stitches and three staples in my head,” King told the outlet. “I took a severe beating.”
King said he isn’t sure why they chose his home. He also said he had never met the suspects before.
After the men allegedly broke in, they pointed a gun at King and brutally beat him, kicked him in the head and pistol-whipped him. Then, they grabbed his 11-year-old daughter.
King’s wife, who was in the back bedroom at the time, peeked out and saw the suspects. One of the men shot at her. She retreated and grabbed an AR-15, then started shooting.
HAPPENING NOW: Detectives are investigating a home invasion that resulted in a homicide in Lithia off of Old Welcome Road.
Posted by Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Both men fled, but the woman managed to shoot one of the men. The injured suspect fell into a ditch and died, while the other suspect got away.
“When he came toward the back door in her line of sight, she clipped him,” King said. “He made it from my back door to roughly 200 feet out in the front ditch before the AR did its thing.”
Authorities said there is limited information on the surviving suspect at this point. He’s described as a black male who likely fled in a vehicle once he ran from the home.
Major Frank Losat of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office indicated that the incident was not random. The suspects targeted the home and may have known one of the victims.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the AR-15 was legally registered to King.
The 11-year-old is safe and unharmed.
“Them guys came in with two normal pistols and my AR stopped it,” King said. “(My wife) evened the playing field and kept them from killing me.”
Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at 813-247-8200.
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[Feature Photo: Pixabay]
