POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd says a homeowner shot an intruder who went on a "rampage" before breaking into a family's house Friday morning.
During a news conference, Sheriff Judd said the 45-year-old intruder was "totally out of control" after he crashed into a tree, jumped onto the hoods of several cars and broke into a home in Lakeland.
Deputies say the intruder plowed into that tree just after 6 a.m., then tried to get onto a school bus that had at least one student on board. Judd says the bus driver was a "hero," kept the doors locked and didn't let the guy inside.
After that, detectives say the intruder jumped onto a white car while a couple was driving. When he reportedly rolled off the car, the couple drove down the road and called police. The man then jumped onto a gray car and broke the windshield before jumping off and running away, authorities said.
"That wasn't the end of his rampage," Sheriff Judd said.
Detectives say the man then burst through the front glass door of a home on Old Polk County Road. The sheriff said a 9-year-old boy, his parents and grandparents were all inside when the man broke in.
"He was wild and out of control," Sheriff Judd said.
The young boy's father, the homeowner, grabbed a gun and called 911.
The intruder grabbed a broken piece of glass and threw it at the homeowner, and that's when he shot the intruder, Sheriff Judd said. The intruder later died.
Sheriff Judd says a woman was with the 45-year-old intruder when he crashed his car through a fence and into a tree. She is being interviewed. She reportedly told detectives she and the man had come over from Orlando to meet someone in Polk County but he became "totally out of control."
Sheriff Judd says this is the second time in less than a week that local homeowners have had to defend themselves from burglars or break-ins.
"Stay out of people's homes. If you don't, you'll end up like these last two guys," he said.
"This homeowner was perfectly justified in what he did," he added.
Watch the press conference below.
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