PHOENIX — A man is dead after he was shot by a woman who says he was breaking into her home late Sunday night, the city's police department said.
Officers responded to the area near 23rd Avenue and Bell Road after reports of the residential burglary, the department said. The man was found at the scene and was transported to a local hospital with critical injuries.
He was later pronounced dead at the hospital. Police have identified the deceased as David Brecker.
Terry Adams told 12News that when she first moved into the neighborhood years ago, she had bars on her windows for safety. Now, she has wrapped her exterior in lights, cameras, and signs to avoid a situation like the one that happened to her neighbor.
Adams said she heard the helicopter overhead and was trying to leave for work just before 3 a.m. when she saw all the police cars and the scene taped off.
The whole situation surprised Adams since most of her neighbors have cameras and signage to deter criminals.
“This is what’s going to happen these days. If you think you are going to go to somebody’s home where you don’t belong, you don’t know what’s on the other side of that door, she explained. That house down there, I know them, I do, and they have a child, and so you know you’re going to protect those who are in there, where your family is, where your comfort zone is," Adams said.
“I feel bad for the family of that man who passed. I feel bad for the family that’s involved because it’s going to disrupt their lives for the rest of their lives,” Adams added.
Police said the woman who fired the gun claimed self-defense and was later released.
This is a developing story. Tune in to 12News for the latest information.
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