Oceanside resident kills home invasion suspect

A resident shot and killed a home invasion suspect, the Oceanside Police Department said Tuesday.

At 7:22 p.m. Monday, the OPD received a radio call of an assault with a deadly weapon in the 4100 block of Diamond Circle, Officer Heather Mitchell said.

The residents were home when a man entered their backyard armed with a rock and a stick, the officer said. The man eventually made it into the bedroom of the home. That is when the homeowner grabbed their handgun and fired three shots at the intruder striking him once in the chest, Mitchell said.

Officers arrived on the scene, along with Oceanside Fire Department personnel, and despite attempted life-saving measures, the suspect died of his injuries, Mitchell said.

Detectives from the OPD Crimes of Violence Unit were investigating the home invasion and shooting as self-defense.

The deceased suspect is described as a 22-year-old man.

The suspect may have tried to enter at least one other home by throwing a rock through a sliding glass window

OPD later said that the suspect may have tried to enter at least one other home by throwing a rock through a sliding glass window of that home and causing the glass to shatter. Police do not yet know if the suspect entered that home too and if those residents were not home at the time.

Before the forced entry, residents saw the suspect walking along the back of their property from Olive Avenue, police said.

This investigation is still ongoing. Anyone with information on this investigation is encouraged to call the Oceanside Police Department at 760-435-4900.

Neighbor Peter Bracken heard the incident while at home on Monday night.

“We were watching the Olympics, trying to see Simone Biles, and then we just heard some gunshot sand then some screaming. We thought it was out back but then we came out and realized it was out front , so came out, called 9-1-1," Bracken said.

Bracken told NBC 7 he had only just bought security cameras the day before.

"Didn’t put 'em up. Put up the one inside. We will definitely put up the other ones today. Kinda weird timing," Bracken said.

"We’re all pretty tight-knit. It's pretty quiet in this little cul-de-sac here so for something like this to happen here is pretty scary," Bracken said.

Dwight Ivy lives down the street and was visiting a friend when he heard the commotion.

“It was just really crazy and unfortunate, but like we’ve had problems in the past where we’ve seen these people that are all on drugs, walking around the neighborhood, things like that. And finally one of them broke into the house and he paid the price," Ivy said.

"Thank god we have our Second Amendment you know, we have the right to bear arms and protect ourselves and that’s what that man did and I applaud him for that," Ivy said.