Rogers, Arkansas

From the Benton Daily Record of January 1, 2007,

Rogers woman shoots intruder

Jodi Qasem remained shaken Sunday afternoon after an early morning ordeal that ended in her shooting an intruder.

The last time Qasem, of 1819 Beth Drive in Rogers, remembers looking at the clock Sunday morning, it was 5: 15 a. m. She soon heard a door open somewhere in the home and thought it odd. She was expecting her husband to come home from work sometime in the near future, but not that early.

“ The next thing I knew, (a man ) was in my bedroom, ” she said with a slight tremor in her voice.

She chased the man through the house and eventually out of the house. As she ran outside to make sure he was gone, the unidentified man grabbed her. Qasem had her new. 22- caliber handgun in her hand and she shot the man.

“ It was pointed at his belly, ” she said. “ I saw the muzzle flash. ”

Qasem said she that during the incident she yelled at the man several times, but he never said a word, including when he was shot. The man stumbled and fled.

“ I ran back in and called 911, ” she said. “(Police ) were here in 30 seconds. ”

Qasem bought the gun shortly after she found a peeping tom peering in her windows. She said the peeping tom had the same build as the intruder, but she didn’t know if they are the same person. She said she could tell he was wearing a hooded shirt and that he was probably white or Hispanic — definitely not African-American.

Qasem said she is concerned because the man hasn’t been found.

“ I want him caught, ” she said Sunday afternoon.

Rogers Police Sgt. Kelly Cradduck said the call to the Rogers Police Department came in at 5: 58 a. m.

“ She had a right to defend her home, ” he said.

Licenses are not required to keep a gun in the home. The only requirements are that the owner be at least 21 years old, not a convicted felon and must be a U. S. citizen. Qasem said she is an avid hunter and is used to handling.