Sharpsburg, Georgia

From Atlanta’s 11Alive.com of February 8, 2007

Man Critical After Killing Intruder

A Coweta County man was hospitalized in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the chest after killing the intruder who shot him early Thursday morning.

Police said the two men were part of a domestic dispute that erupted in gunfire in the normally quiet Coweta County neighborhood. According to investigators, the victim, Kevin Went, and his girlfriend were inside the home on St. James Place near Sharpsburg at the time of a violent intrusion. The girlfriend's ex-boyfriend kicked down the door about 5:30 a.m. with a gun in hand. Both men started to argue and both started shooting.

"The old boyfriend followed her here, kicked the door in, forced his way in, confronted the new boyfriend with a firearm and they shot each other," said Major James Yarbrough of the Coweta County Sheriff's Office.

A neighbor said bullets were flying from the home. "I could hear him kick in the door and he shot and I think some of the bullets came out through the wall over there," said Curtis Scruggs.

The ex-boyfriend, who was identified as Vance Tanner, died at the scene. The homeowner was airlifted to Atlanta Medical Center in critical condition.