Irish
05-04-10, 10:41
http://www.northjersey.com/news/crime_courts/050310_Police_Paterson_man_shoots_and_kills_armed_home_invader.html
PATERSON — A man shot and killed a home invader who held up the man and his girlfriend early Monday, police said.
The man’s girlfriend was visiting him at his North Third Street basement studio apartment when someone knocked on the door about 12:20 a.m., said Lt. Ronald Humphrey. Thinking it was her mother — with whom she lives next door — the woman opened the door and was face to face with a man pointing a gun at her, Humphrey said.
He forced her inside and asked the 28-year-old woman and her boyfriend, Phillip Jackson, for money. Fearing for their lives, Jackson, 24, struggled for the weapon, Humphrey said.
Jackson was able to get the gun, shooting the man several times, Humphrey said. A neighbor, Patricia McNeil, heard the shots at her home, which is down the block.
“At first I thought it was just the thunder from the rain,” she said. “Then all of a sudden, I see two women running up the street screaming.”
McNeil said she was not sure where the women came from, but police responded in droves. Police found the man face-up in a bed with several gunshot wounds, Humphrey said.
He was pronounced dead on the scene, and the police were trying to confirm his identity.
The victims did not know the gunman, Humphrey said, and police do not know why he targeted Jackson’s apartment.
“Based on the evidence provided at this time, no charges are being lodged against Mr. Jackson,” Humphrey said.
Neighbors said the home invasion was out of character for the neighborhood, which is largely quiet at night. On Monday, all that remained from the crime scene hours earlier was some yellow police tape wrapped around a tree on the property. The door of the house was ajar on Monday afternoon.
One tenant who lives next door to Jackson’s home said she was watching TV around midnight when she heard three shots ring out so loudly that they sounded like they came from inside her bedroom.
“It’s scary, ’cause it’s right next door to me,” said the woman, who asked her name not be used. “It’s crazy, ’cause it’s always quiet here.”
Detectives are canvassing the neighborhood and are interviewing other people, said Lt. Richard Reyes.
Home invasions are rare — only a few occur in Paterson every year — but the victim shooting and killing the invader is even rarer, Humphrey said.
McNeil, president of the Habitat for Humanity homeowners association, said most of the residents on the block are working people who have lived in the neighborhood for a while.
“I am scared because you see all these things where they come back to retaliate,” she said. “I’m really afraid, fearful for my life.”
PATERSON — A man shot and killed a home invader who held up the man and his girlfriend early Monday, police said.
The man’s girlfriend was visiting him at his North Third Street basement studio apartment when someone knocked on the door about 12:20 a.m., said Lt. Ronald Humphrey. Thinking it was her mother — with whom she lives next door — the woman opened the door and was face to face with a man pointing a gun at her, Humphrey said.
He forced her inside and asked the 28-year-old woman and her boyfriend, Phillip Jackson, for money. Fearing for their lives, Jackson, 24, struggled for the weapon, Humphrey said.
Jackson was able to get the gun, shooting the man several times, Humphrey said. A neighbor, Patricia McNeil, heard the shots at her home, which is down the block.
“At first I thought it was just the thunder from the rain,” she said. “Then all of a sudden, I see two women running up the street screaming.”
McNeil said she was not sure where the women came from, but police responded in droves. Police found the man face-up in a bed with several gunshot wounds, Humphrey said.
He was pronounced dead on the scene, and the police were trying to confirm his identity.
The victims did not know the gunman, Humphrey said, and police do not know why he targeted Jackson’s apartment.
“Based on the evidence provided at this time, no charges are being lodged against Mr. Jackson,” Humphrey said.
Neighbors said the home invasion was out of character for the neighborhood, which is largely quiet at night. On Monday, all that remained from the crime scene hours earlier was some yellow police tape wrapped around a tree on the property. The door of the house was ajar on Monday afternoon.
One tenant who lives next door to Jackson’s home said she was watching TV around midnight when she heard three shots ring out so loudly that they sounded like they came from inside her bedroom.
“It’s scary, ’cause it’s right next door to me,” said the woman, who asked her name not be used. “It’s crazy, ’cause it’s always quiet here.”
Detectives are canvassing the neighborhood and are interviewing other people, said Lt. Richard Reyes.
Home invasions are rare — only a few occur in Paterson every year — but the victim shooting and killing the invader is even rarer, Humphrey said.
McNeil, president of the Habitat for Humanity homeowners association, said most of the residents on the block are working people who have lived in the neighborhood for a while.
“I am scared because you see all these things where they come back to retaliate,” she said. “I’m really afraid, fearful for my life.”