Pickens County, South Carolina

From Greenville’s Fox21.com of April 17, 2006

Pickens County Woman Shoots Home Invader

A house in Liberty is the epitome of peace, especially with the sound of chimes. Hard to believe, something violent happened inside. Pickens County Investigators say Brian Teague forced his way into Susan Hendricks' home Thursday evening and refused to leave.

"She felt threatened," says Lt. Lane Byers, Pickens County Sheriff's Office. "She felt she could not leave the home to get away from him. And she felt she had to defend herself. She used a firearm to do so."

Hendricks reportedly shot Teague several times. She was trying to take food to her disabled father next door, when everything escalated. He told me this wasn't the first time Teague tried to hurt his daughter. And investigators knew this.

"She had made some complaints that he had bothered her, prior to this."

In fact, Hendricks filed an incident report about Teague with the Pickens County Sheriff's Office, just 30 minutes before the shooting. Her father tells me she's shaken up and doing as well as can be expected. He's confident this will be considered self defense, although investigators are still working through all the information.

"We've been interviewing different people that saw it and a few people who knew of instances prior to this. We've talked to a few people who've been in the neighborhood today. And we've tried to determine what charges, if any, would be filed."