There are not many good options for a homeowner when a stranger crawls through a window of their residence and attacks a house guest. That was the frightening situation faced by a woman in Hammond, Louisiana last week, and thankfully she was armed and prepared.
Police said the suspect, 23-year-old Samael Raynaldo Maldonado-Lael confessed he was high on drugs when he concocted the plan to raid a home.
When he was inside the mobile home, Maldonado-Lael allegedly threatened to kill the occupants before assaulting a guest.
That was when the homeowner retrieved a firearm, and a struggle ensued. The intruder was shot in the leg during the fight, and then it just got strange.
Remember, the police said Maldonado-Lael admitted to being under the influence of drugs.
Already wounded, authorities reported the suspect stripped naked and ran from the home. He then broke the window of a vehicle parked nearby, entered the car and tried to barricade himself inside. That did not work.
Deputies were able to pull the naked suspect from the vehicle. He was then transported to a local hospital for what were described as non-life-threatening injuries from the gunshot wound. After being released from the hospital, Maldonado-Lael was later booked into the Tangipahoa Parish Jail.
Thanks to his admittedly drug-addled rampage, the suspect now faces charges including home invasion, second degree battery, vehicle burglary and resisting arrest.
No charges have been filed or are expected to be filed against the fortunate homeowner. She was at her residence and clearly defending herself and her family when she shot the intruder.
Crawling through a window and attacking a resident is more than enough cause for self-defense, and she acted heroically. It is a blessing that she was armed and had the courage to fight back against a violent intruder under the influence of illegal drugs.