Man apologizes after fatally shooting home intruder: ‘I wasn’t trying to kill him’

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. (WSVN) - A Florida homeowner is speaking out after he shot and killed an intruder who tried to break into his home. He says he was forced to fire to defend his home but didn’t mean to kill anyone.

The homeowner, who didn’t want to be identified, says he was in the bathroom Saturday night when four men showed up to his home in Southwest Miami-Dade.

“I heard my mom scream, ‘Get off my porch before I call the police,’ so I’m startled. I don’t know what’s going on, so I grab my gun,” the homeowner said.

He says one of the men charged at him when they were told to leave, and he was forced to open fire to defend his home.

“By him seeing my gun, I thought he would run to get off the porch. If he would have left, there would have been no issue,” the homeowner said. “When I go in the house, he barges at me, and that’s when I shot him unfortunately.”

After shots rang out, the other three men ran away.

Deputies with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office responded to the home shortly after the gunshots. The man who had been shot was taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died.

The homeowner says it was not his intention to kill the man.

“I’ve lost my peace of mind. I have never had any situation like this ever happen to me. I have never pulled a gun on anyone, let alone use it. So, even when he was down, I was telling him, ‘Don’t die. Don’t die.’ I was trying to help him,” he said.

He says he later found out that the man he shot had a fight with the other men who were with him that night.

“What we later found out – I don’t know if it’s true – was that they had an altercation with him, which is why he was here. He was running from them,” he said.

While the man who was killed has not been identified, the homeowner is sending a message to the family now grieving their loved one.

“I apologize. Taking a life was never my goal. I wasn’t trying to kill him. I was just trying to save myself,” he said.

The incident remains under investigation by deputies. If you have any information on this crime, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.