A pregnant Florida woman is being credited for saving her husband's life after she used a semi-automatic weapon to fatally shot one of two home invaders who'd broken into her home and began pistol-whipping her husband, officials said Monday.
According to Hillsborough County Sheriff's Maj. Frank Losat, the fatal shooting happened at around 9 p.m. on Wednesday (Oct. 30) in Lithia, Florida, after two masked men armed with guns broke into the victims' home, pointed their weapons at him and demanded money.
“They came in heavily hooded and masked. As soon as they had got the back door opened, they had a pistol on me and was grabbing my 11-year-old daughter,” homeowner Jeremy King told Bay News 9 about the incident.
When his wife, who was in the back bedroom, and currently eight-months pregnant, peeked out to see what was happening, she retreated after one of the masked men shot at her. That's when she grabbed the AR-15 and returned fire, fatally striking one of the home invaders.
"Preliminary information has revealed that the two homeowners were inside their house, at which time, two unknown males broke in and made demands of them. The male victim, who is the homeowner, began to get pistol-whipped and beat up," Losat said during a press conference on Wednesday.
"During that incident, the female homeowner retrieved a firearm, which was in the house legally, and fired one round which struck the male victim that was deceased in the ditch," said Losat.
Jeremy told the station that he believes he would be dead if it wasn't for the quick actions of his eight-month-pregnant wife. Both home invaders were armed with pistols and fired one shot.
"Them guys came in with two normal pistols and my AR stopped it," King said. "[My wife] evened the playing field and kept them from killing me."
King was transported to a local hospital and was treated for a fractured eye socket, a fractured sinus cavity and a concussion to go along with 20 stitches from the attack. Neither victim knew their attackers.
“We also know this was not a random act," Losat said. "This family was probably targeted.”
Investigators are still looking for the second gunman.