Man Shot After Vandalizing Truck, Leaving and Then Returning to Confront Owner With Baseball Bat

KILLEEN, TEXAS — Tuesday, the 13th proved to be extremely unlucky for a man who vandalized a truck and then returned to the scene to challenge the armed owner.

Around 9:15 on the morning of October 13^th, a man vandalized a truck parked in the drive of a residence in the 1900 block of Kingwood Drive.  The owner went outside to find the man leaving the scene in a blue Honda.

According to police spokeswoman Ofelia Miramontez, “The homeowner went back in the house and retrieved a handgun and when he came back out the same male stopped in the roadway of Greengate Drive on the side of the house and approached the homeowner with an aluminum bat.

A confrontation occurred, with the homeowner shooting the bat-wielding vandal at least five times. The wounded man was able to drive the Honda to a Dollar General store on Rancier Drive.  Employees of the store called 911, and the man was airlifted to Scott & White Medical Center.

The identities of the men involved and the condition of the man who was shot are not known, nor is it known what charges may be filed by police.

The owner clearly would not have been justified in shooting the man for the act of vandalism, and the vandal left the scene unscathed. Then for whatever reason, he chose to return to the scene and confront the armed owner with a bat. Texas does have self-defense laws commonly known as Stand Your Ground, where a person may use deadly force if they feel that their life is in danger, and a baseball bat can certainly be used as a deadly weapon.