SPANISH FORT, Ala. (WPMI) —
Shortly after midnight Saturday, Spanish Fort Police Chief John Barber says a woman heard someone outside her Caisson Trace home, woke up her husband, and then heard glass in a front window break.
“This 17-year-old juvenile forcibly enters into this residence where he’s confronted by the father, who’s got a wife and three kids in this house,” said Barber.
Barber says the father, who appeared to be acting in self-defense, fired one shot with a pistol and hit the 17-year-old in the upper abdomen.
“There is somebody in their residence in the middle of the night, unknown to them. There’s a reasonable belief, then, that somebody can be harmed in his family,” said Barber.
The teen was flown to University Hospital, where Barber says he is in serious condition. Barber says the 17-year-old doesn’t live in the Spanish Fort Estates neighborhood where the shooting occurred but is a Baldwin County resident.
“The 17-year-old juvenile was at a residence on Caisson Trace earlier in the night with some of his friends. It’s our belief that the juvenile suspect was under the influence of a substance when this actually occurred,” said Barber.
Barber says the teen was by himself, and at this point, what his motives were aren’t clear.
“We don’t understand what his intent might have been. We just know that based on the physical evidence on the scene, the entry appears to be the broken glass area. He did make entry into the house,” said Barber.
Barber says the teen may be facing criminal charges, including burglary.
