SPANISH FORT, AL — A Spanish Fort father is being hailed by many as a responsible gun owner who did what he had to do to protect his family during a terrifying home invasion early Saturday morning.
Just after midnight, a woman inside a home on Caisson Trace heard noises outside, then the unmistakable sound of shattering glass. She quickly woke her husband. Moments later, a 17-year-old male had forced his way through a broken front window and into the home, where the father — now alert and armed — was waiting.
“There is somebody in their residence in the middle of the night, unknown to them. There’s a reasonable belief, then, that somebody can be harmed in his family,” said Spanish Fort Police Chief John Barber. The father, who was protecting his wife and three sleeping children, fired one shot with a pistol, striking the intruder in the upper abdomen.
The teenager, who does not live in the neighborhood, was airlifted to University Hospital. He is currently in critical but stable condition. Police say the teen had been drinking and was likely under the influence of a substance, though toxicology results are pending.
Investigators say the teen had been at a friend’s house nearby earlier that night. What prompted him to break into a different house remains unclear.
Chief Barber confirmed that based on physical evidence, the intruder broke through a front window and entered the home alone.
“This 17-year-old juvenile forcibly enters into this residence where he’s confronted by the father,” Barber said. “The father appeared to be acting in self-defense.”
The case is still under investigation, and police say charges — including burglary — may be filed against the teen. The incident will be presented to a grand jury.
The boy’s father, speaking from his son’s hospital bedside, offered a different perspective. He claimed his son likely thought he was returning to his friend’s house and entered the wrong home by mistake.
“He remembers drinking. He remembers leaving to go pick up another friend. He doesn’t remember anything after that,” the father said.
While the teen’s father does not excuse his son’s underage drinking, he insists his son was confused and had no intention of breaking into someone’s home. He emphasized that his son has no criminal record and has never been in trouble before.
Thankfully for the homeowner and his family, the victims in this case, the boy who was not killed, yet they will now have to live with the consequences of this teen’s bad decision. But the homeowner’s decision to protect his family was clear and justified. His wife roused him from sleep amid the sound of breaking glass and a strange man entering his home. What were his choices?
“In the moment, when someone is in your house in the middle of the night, your job as a father is to protect your wife and your kids,” one neighbor told us. “That’s what happened here.”
The story serves as a stark reminder: the Second Amendment is not just a right — for many families, it’s their last line of defense when unknown danger comes crashing through the window.
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I hope the grand jury is being convened to deliberate bringing charges against the teen, not the home owner. That people defending their homes and loved ones from criminals–first time or otherwise–risk prosecution is among the more grotesque symptoms of Western society’s sickness.
In the video, the father states his son likely “fell through” the window. Utterly impossible, except in the movies, unless his son is a thrown brick or stone. He and his son are fortunate have lived through his son lived through his FAFO moment.
It would be interesting to know if any words were exchanged before the shot was fired, or if the kid just charged at him. I believe the youth likely was on something more than just alcohol.
The drunk 17-year-old thought he was driving to pick up another friend? So he broke through a window to get back into the house where he thought he’d been drinking? Where did the picked-up friend go? Why was he “attempting” to drive when he was that drunk? Lots of unanswered questions for that amazingly lucky 17-year-old. And the homeowner showed amazing restraint.
“He claimed his son likely thought he was returning to his friend’s house and entered the wrong home by mistake.”
And he figured he had to break a window to get in? Ya, right.
Dumb ass kid
Anybody that opens fire in their own home while in their underwear is never the aggressor.