TUPELO, Miss.–An early morning gun blast Thursday took the life of a Tupelo man.
Tupelo Police Captain Rusty Haynes told News Mississippi that it appears to be a home invasion.
“The male homeowner was home alone with his two kids around 5 a.m. when he was woken up by his back deck motion-sensor light,” he said.
The homeowner then found his .410 shotgun and walked to the back door and told the 30-year-old white male that was on his back deck that he needed to leave.
“The subject charged the homeowner at which time the homeowner discharged a .410 shotgun striking the man in the chest,” said Haynes.
The unidentified intruder died right there on the back deck just outside the home.
“The two men did not know each other whatsoever, not at all,” he said.
The case will know go to a jury to decide whether a crime was committed by the home owner but Haynes said it is likely the Castle Doctrine will play out and the home owner will go free.
The body has been sent to Jackson for an autopsy.
