WYOMING COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA — When a homeowner walked out his door to see a man beating his car with a rock, he understandably asked him to stop. When the thief opted to instead rip the screen off of a window of his home, the homeowner felt threatened and shot him in the chest.
According to reports submitted to the Register-Herald, the homeowner discovered the thief in the middle of the act. The windows of his vehicle had been smashed out and the suspected thief was frantically whacking the dashboard of his vehicle. It appeared he had intent to steal the vehicle but lacked any appropriate knowledge on how to go about that. In lieu of knowledge, he resorted to sheer, insane force.
The homeowner probably figured he wasn’t dealing with someone operating with a full deck of cards but still understood that there was a real threat to his life. He tried to give the man an option to stop. That’s the way of peace. However, the thief went from destroying the man’s car to destroying his home and that’s when it became apparent the only thing that would stop this man from causing further harm would be to shoot him.
Wyoming County deputies arrived on the scene and found Julio Alonso, 56, with a gunshot wound to his chest. He was evacuated to a nearby hospital in Charleston where he is listed in stable condition. The homeowner is fine and hasn’t been charged with a single darn thing.
We’re pretty sure he’s absolutely furious about the damages to his vehicle and property.
Deputies suspect that Alonso was under the influence of drugs when he began his destructive rampage and that he had the intention of stealing the homeowner’s vehicle.
The suspect is not from West Virginia. He appears to be from Florida and took up residence someplace nearby recently. Deputies also suspect drugs may have a role in that, too.
This entire debacle happened around noon time. Another noon time robbery, another law-abiding gun owner ready to protect himself… When will these people learn?
Good on the homeowner and it’s a reminder we need to keep doing what we’re doing. Carry everywhere, especially at home. Concealed carriers and gun owners are in the unenviable position of being placed in the front lines against a wave of complete idiots that aren’t afraid to break things and hurt people. That’s the simplest way we can put it.
The majority of the people we see committing these crimes aren’t smart but they are violent. If a person doesn’t have the means to defend him or herself, victimization is all but assured. These thugs aren’t getting the hint. We are.
Keep carrying concealed and stay safe.