A West Virginia man protected his property Friday night, leading to the arrests of two people.
The individual had called police several times last week reporting thefts at his Cross Lanes home.
He was in the midst of installing security cameras Friday morning when he realized he was not alone on his property.
When he entered an outbuilding, two people took off, according to WSAZ-TV.
According to a news release from the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, the homeowner then grabbed a gun that was in his vehicle. The name of the homeowner was not released.
He went to the back of the outbuilding, where he encountered a woman trying to run away into the nearby woods. A man was running out of the building, leading the homeowner to fire his shotgun once.
The gun was pointed at the ground, but a pellet struck the man, deputies said.
The homeowner held the woman at gunpoint while the man ran into the woods.
Kanawha County deputies arrived and found the man a short distance from the scene of the incident.
The man, who was wounded in the leg, was taken to a local hospital, according to Lootpress.
The sheriff’s office said in its release that deputies were alerted to a suspicious vehicle parked in the area.
The release said the vehicle “not only contained evidence of this crime, but possibly contains evidence of additional crimes. That vehicle has been impounded and will be processed by forensic investigators.”
“Although we did not get the name of the citizen who reported the suspicious vehicle, we would still like to take this opportunity to thank him for recognizing the suspicious vehicle and reporting it,” the release said.
SELF DEFENSE: A homeowner in Kanawha County shot one man after he was caught breaking into his building. The homeowner also detained a female intruder who was trying to escape.#KanawhaCounty #WestVirginiahttps://t.co/Qasek59eNb pic.twitter.com/iO5oFTUZtg
— Lootpress (@lootpress) May 20, 2023
Deputies said the vehicle belonged to the woman who was arrested in the case.
According to the release, the woman who was arrested was identified as Taylor Danielle Edwards, 35, who faces charges of breaking and entering a building.
The male suspect is Joshua Paul Shiltz, 28, who will face charges once he is out of the hospital.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.