An elderly woman fatally shot an armed burglar in Florida early Wednesday morning.
According to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, the unnamed 67-year-old woman killed Reginald Best, 64, with a single shot after he broke into her home.
The woman told law enforcement that she heard someone messing with her front door handle around 3 a.m.
Thinking that it might be her husband, the woman opened the door. At this point, she says that Best forced his way inside.
News Channel 8 reports that “she told Best to leave her home multiple times. She told deputies Best raised up both arms and she saw he had a gun in his hand.”
Fearing what would happen next, the woman fired a single shot and called the police.
“Before the shooting, deputies said they received several erratic calls from Best and another woman at 172 Silver Lake Drive,” Channel 8 reports. “During one of the calls, Best told dispatchers that he was hiding from his neighbors and there were people in orange standing outside his home. In a call from the other woman, she told dispatchers that Best had jumped out of the window with a gun and ran down the street. Deputies said they were en route to the calls when the shooting happened.”
Putnam County Sheriff H.D. “Gator” DeLoach told the station that this case is a “perfect example” of why he supports the Second Amendment.
“This call for service is a perfect example of why I continue to support and fight daily for the rights of law abiding residents to own firearms,” DeLoach said. “All firearm owners have a responsibility not only to themselves, but also to their families to maintain proficiency with a gun, as our victim here today clearly has.”
“If it were not for her foresight to arm herself, the outcome could have been much graver,” the sheriff continued. “It’s unfortunate that Best was struggling with some apparently profound issues and posed a deadly threat to the victim and her family. She absolutely had the right to defend herself and I’m grateful that her decisive action stopped the threat, and eliminated the risk of further loss of life, making her entire neighborhood safer.”