Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
'I had to shoot him,' the caller said after a 911 operator what happened following multiple gunshots
A newly-trained 911 operator received a call at about 2:40 a.m. on April 22 from a man who claimed an intruder was in the house. Within a minute of her asking the homeowner what he was reporting, crashes can be heard.
911 operator: OK, is that crashing I hear behind you, is that them?
Homeowner: Yeah, they broke the window.
The operator then calmly walked the homeowner through the events, asking him details and relaying them to law enforcement.
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After asking him his address, whether he was armed and to describe his vehicle, she let him know officers were on their way.
Then, at four minutes into the call, about 10 shots can be heard. The homeowner, hidden in a closet, shot and killed the intruder, the King County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.
There's about a minute of noise in the background as the 911 operator asks "Can you hear me?" repeatedly.
911 operator: Hello, if you can hear me, I need you to talk to me, I need to know what's going on.
Homeowner: Hello.
911 operator: Hey, what's going on?
Homeowner: Where are you?
911 operator: OK, we've got officers coming, what's going on? What happened? I heard shots, what happened?
Homeowner: I had to shoot him, he came after me. I'm in my closet in my bedroom.
Listen to the full call below. Warning: The audio recording below contains the sound of gunfire and other traumatic noises.
The homeowner told the operator there was another person downstairs, but KCSO never found evidence of a second suspect. They said officers were on the scene within seconds of the shots being fired.
The 911 operator was praised in the KCSO news release for her calm and steady manner in getting information to officers despite being out of training for three weeks.
The homeowner will not be charged, KCSO spokesperson Ryan Abbott said. He was cleared by detectives and there will be no more investigation.