8.27.2012

Might not be a goblin, but...

Was reading about a home shooting that happened this weekend in Vancouver, Washington.  From the sound of the details, it sounds like the guy might have been more drunk nuisance than legitimate threat, but...I really don't blame the homeowner in this situation. 

If someone is stumbling around your home at 2:15 in the morning, and forces his way through your locked bedroom door...well, shooting him seems to be a prudent course of action.  Just because you can't see a gun doesn't mean it's not a waist band or holster. 

A 42-year-old Missouri man is dead after he allegedly forced his way into a Vancouver home early Saturday morning and was shot by a homeowner, according to the Clark County Sheriff's Office.

The homeowners were alerted by their dog barking sometime before 2:16 a.m. and realized somebody was in their home, according to Sgt. Kevin Allais. Law enforcement officers believe Christopher Jon Billings, 42 of Kansas City, Mo., entered the home through an unsecured door. The homeowners then locked their bedroom door, according to Allais, and Billings allegedly forced his way into the bedroom. The resident, armed with a handgun, shot and killed the intruder, Allais said.

The homeowner then called 911 to report the shooting, according to a release. The shooting occurred on the
3700 block of Northeast 54th Ave. in Vancouver.

Vancouver police and Washington State Patrol troopers were already in the area searching for Billings in response to a call from a nearby trooper.

The trooper, in the midst of processing a suspected DUI driver a half block from where the shooting occurred, saw a man whom police believe was Billings, "stumbling down the sidewalk mumbling incoherently," according to a release.

The trooper instructed the man to stay away from the traffic stop, Allais said, and the officer was concerned the man would stumble into traffic on State Route 500 and be struck by a vehicle. He called in for backup from other officers to respond to the area because the man appeared to pose a danger to himself.

Vancouver police and trooper learned of the shooting as they were conducting a search for Billings and heard the gunshots, Allais said.

Both Vancouver Police and Clark County Sheriff's Office's Major Crimes Units are investigating the shooting. The Homeowner was not identified.


Andrew Theen

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