Walpole, Massachusetts

From the Waltham Daily News of August 7, 2006

Bullets scare off intruder

Police are looking for a man who broke into an Everett Street home Saturday and then fled when the homeowner’s son opened fire on him.

The gunfire broke out at 5 Everett St. at about 9:15 a.m. Saturday when the homeowner’s 30-year-old son came by to check on the house while his parents were away, Deputy Police Chief Scott Bushway said yesterday.

Police haven’t released the name of the homeowner or his son and no one answered the doorbell at the three-story Everett Street home yesterday afternoon.

But when the homeowner’s son walked into the house Saturday, he spotted an unidentified man inside, police said. When the intruder grabbed a knife out of the kitchen, the son pulled out his own firearm and shot at the burglar twice, said Bushway.

Instead of hitting the intruder, the bullets lodged in the wall and floor of the house. But the gunfire was enough to scare away the man, who ran out of the house, Bushway said.

Police are investigating the break-in and looking for the intruder, but Bushway would not release a description of the man yesterday.

No charges have been filed against the son of the Everett Street homeowner, who does have a permit to carry a firearm, Bushway said.

Massachusetts General Law 278, s.8A, also known as the Castle Doctrine, states that occupants of a dwelling are allowed to defend themselves, using "reasonable means" if the occupant has reason to believe that an unlawful intruder intends to harm him.