PHOENIX — A relaxing afternoon turned traumatic for a Valley woman after an armed man broke inside her home and was later shot dead by police.
The 29-year-old woman, who does not want her identity revealed, said she had taken a shower and was in her bedroom watching TV when she saw a man with a gun lurking in her backyard near 43rd Avenue and Cactus Road.
“I had the perfect angle where I could see his right hand, [it] was by his leg and he had the gun in his hand,” the woman said. “The minute I saw the guy, I knew I couldn’t do this by myself, defend myself, so instantly I knew I had to call the cops.”
The homeowner says she locked herself in her room and called 911 as she sat by the door trying to block it from being forced open. She says she could hear the man walking around inside her home.
The woman says the intruder told her he didn’t want to hurt her, but after she asked him to leave her house, he refused. She later managed to escape through a window.
Phoenix police arrived shortly after and surrounded the house as the suspect, later identified as 29-year-old Anthony Greco, exited the home into the backyard.
Officers say Greco was armed with a handgun and was shot dead after he refused commands. Police fired one round as he raised the weapon toward the officer.
The situation was a traumatic experience for the woman but says that was not the ending she hoped for.
“There’s a lot of guilt. I hate how it ended and I hate that it had to end the way for him, but at the same time you were in my home sir,” the woman said. “I’m just thankful to be alive”.
The woman says she does not know the suspect. She says she will now be installing a security system in hopes of protecting herself.