Police say a homeowner shot a teenage burglar after he was caught breaking into the man's home near Audelia Road and Walnut Hill Lane in East Dallas Tuesday night, and a second burglar is on the run.
Julie Lanaux was initially hesitant to speak with NBC 5 about Tuesday's harrowing chain of events involving her husband at their home, but felt it was important.
"He saw the door was ajar, and he thought it was me at first and annoyed with me for leaving the door ajar, and then he looks and the door looks cracked," Lanaux said, of her husband, moments after he arrived home from work.
She says her husband grabbed his concealed carry firearm and slowly entered his home, investigating further.
"You don't know if they were armed. He's outnumbered in our house, and there could have been more than just the two people he saw," she said.
Dallas police say at least two burglars, one just 15 years old, had broken in and were in the process of stealing thousands of dollars worth of electronics, jewelry and even firearms.
Lanaux believes the pair had been casing the neighborhood for some time before breaking into their back gate. She said they clearly ignored all of the crime watch signs and likely never suspected they'd be confronted by her husband.
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"My husband fired some warning shots at their feet," she said.
The 15-year-old was shot and wounded, and the second burglar ran away. It was a bad situation that could have been much worse, Lanaux said.
"I'm hoping, to some extent, an incident like this makes people think twice about breaking in, because anything casn happen," she said.
Police are still looking for the second burglar in this case. Lanaux's husband was questioned by Dallas police Wednesday afternoon and the incident remains under investigation.
