![Crime scene tape [Shutterstock Fer Gregory]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/shutterstock_1019775253-e1676660378438.jpg "Crime scene tape [Shutterstock Fer Gregory]")
An elderly Florida woman shot and killed a man who allegedly broke into her home on Wednesday, according to police.
The incident unfolded around 3 a.m. Wednesday morning in Interlachen, Florida, when a 67-year-old female homeowner told authorities she heard her door rattling and went to investigate, according to a Putnam County police statement. The woman thought it might be her husband returning from work and so she opened the door, which is when 64-year-old Reginald Best allegedly forced his way into the home. Best was reportedly armed, according to police.
The homeowner told Best to leave several times, according to police.
An armed man was killed Wednesday morning in Interlachen after Putnam County investigators said he forced his way into the home of a woman who shot him. https://t.co/QlQBT6EIby
— News4JAX (@wjxt4) February 15, 2023
“The woman told deputies Best raised up both arms and she saw he had a firearm in his hand,” police said. “Fearing for her life, she shot Best one time. After the shooting she called 911.”
Authorities arrived on scene and found Best lying on the floor bleeding from a single gunshot wound. He was taken to a local hospital where he later died, police said in the statement. (RELATED: Elderly Homeowner Shoots Intruders Who Were Beating Him)
Police said prior to the fatal shooting dispatchers had received “several erratic calls from Best and another female” and that Best told police he was hiding from his neighbors and “there were people in orange standing outside his residence,” according to the statement.
The female neighbor told police that Best had apparently “jumped out of the window … with a firearm and ran down the street.” Officers had already been on their way to the scene when the homeowner called the police about the shooting.
“This call for service is a perfect example of why I continue to support and fight daily for the rights of law abiding residents to own firearms,” Sheriff H.D. ‘Gator’ DeLoach said. “All firearm owners have a responsibility not only to themselves, but also to their families to maintain proficiency with a gun, as our victim here today clearly has.”