One man is in custody after a North Portland man fired rubber pellets at him during an early morning home intrusion.
Tim Wallace said he and his wife had come home late Thursday night to find their back gates open and items outside their home rearranged. Thinking someone may have been at the house earlier in the night, before going to bed Wallace grabbed his shotgun, just in case.
Around 3:45 a.m., Wallace heard a noise outside his bedroom window and when he got up and went outside to investigate, he found a man charging down at him.
“I grabbed my shotgun and went out the door and the minute I turned into the breezeway there was a guy coming right at me,” Wallace said.
Owning the gun for over 40 years, Wallace has always kept the gun loaded and in a safe, but with a unique approach: “I always keep it loaded with three shots of non-lethal, after that they’re lethal.”
Wallace fired off one round that hit the man in the shoulder as he fled the area near the 7000 block of North Seward Avenue.
"When that gun went off, I don't think that shotgun was 6 inches from his shoulder--he was that close to me.”
In an attempt to escape, Wallace said the man then pedaled down the street on a bike.
“I fired two more shots, not aiming at him but just to scare him.”
Police found the suspect hiding behind St. John Lutheran Church down the road, where he was taken away by ambulance and treated for the gunshot wound.
Wallace said he never wanted to use the gun but has to protect his wife and home.
“I don’t want to kill anybody. I’ve never had any inclination to want to really physically hurt somebody or kill them," he said.
The suspect has not yet been booked and is likely still in the hospital, police said. He’ll be booked into the jail once released.
Police have not announced whether or not the homeowner will be facing any charges in the shooting.
