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Man Fatally Shoots Home Intruder After Gunfire Battle

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Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
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A man who allegedly broke into a California home was fatally shot and killed by the homeowner in a gunfire battle Friday, authorities said.

The incident unfolded Friday early afternoon when a homeowner in Modesto, California, received an alert from his alarm monitoring company that his home was broken into, according to a report by the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office.

“He did receive some sort of an alert that there was an activation on the property,” Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Erich Layton said, according to Fox 40. (RELATED: 12-Year-Old Shoots Home Intruders, Kills One)

The unidentified homeowner quickly returned back to his home and found 41-year-old Turlock resident, Rodney Lee Martin in his home. Martin proceeded to fire multiple shots at the homeowner with a stolen gun, according to the report.

The homeowner quickly returned fire and “both parties became involved in a continued exchange of mutual gunfire,” police said. The homeowner eventually managed to “disarm the male intruder” and then exited the property and called authorities.

Upon arrival, police found the suspected intruder dead from a fatal gunshot wound.

Authorities say the homeowner is cooperating with the investigation and that no arrests have been made.

The Stanislaus Sheriff’s Office is also investigating a similar incident that unfolded days earlier. Authorities responded to a call June 29 about an attempted home invasion robbery. When they responded to the scene they found a woman outside of the home in a parked car who had been fatally shot. Authorities determined the unidentified female intruder “had tried to force entry into the home by smashing a sliding glass door with a fire extinguisher.”

The elderly homeowners called neighbors for help and “armed themselves.” The elderly woman warned the intruder to stay back and fired a single round at the intruder after she allegedly kept trying to enter the house and threatened to kill the couple.