Preparedness
Woman Defends Property with Gun, Burglar Found Inside Dryer
In an unusual turn of events, a woman in Shreveport, Louisiana, found herself in a position where she had to protect her property from a would-be burglar. It was in the early hours of last Friday when she reportedly opened fire on a male suspect who was attempting to make off with items from her backyard, as reported by KSLA-TV.
The city’s local police force was alerted to a report of gunshots on West Canal Street in the Sunset Acres neighborhood around 5:10 a.m., arriving on the scene shortly after.
The homeowner, Rochelle Baylor, was confronted with a startling scene when a neighbor rang her doorbell at about 4:30 a.m., pointing out there was a person in her backyard and some of her belongings were displaced on the sidewalk.
Baylor, in her recollection to KSLA, said she “ran up on” the suspect, demanded to know where her property was, and opened fire “about five or six times.”
Shreveport Police’s Lt. Shawn Hurd shared details of the suspect’s flight from the scene, telling KSLA the individual “ended up calling his mom to come get him,” and “we ended up chasing him for miles.”
Following a relentless pursuit that lasted several hours, officers eventually found the suspect hiding inside a rather unconventional hideout — a clothes dryer in the house of a neighbor named James Wall.
“We have some problems like this every once in a while, but none like this. It was like the whole police force showed up.” Wall, recounting his experience, told KSLA, “I was in there reading my Bible and seen these police come up the driveway and went in the back.”
KSLA noted Baylor’s shots did not hit the suspect. However, when police found the suspect, he was reportedly covered in blood. Authorities indicated that injuries might have been sustained from barbed-wire fencing during his flight.
The suspect, identified as 28-year-old Joshua Dotson, was subsequently charged with simple burglary, KSLA reported.
Let us know what you think, please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Frank J Perruccio
June 28, 2024 at 11:59 am
I live in an open cary state.
I have a 9mm Glock and a 12 gage along with a concealed carry permit.
I wouldn’t be able to legally kill someone in my home unless it was in self defense. In this situation, I’d shoot to scare, or lightly injure a burglar in an effort to detain them until law enforcement arrived. I wouldn’t want to shoot to kill an unarmed burger who was running away.
Shirley
June 28, 2024 at 12:56 pm
I think you have the right to protect your family and belonging
Happy Warrior
June 28, 2024 at 4:08 pm
The gal needs to go to the range for some serious accuracy training, but I’ll bet the burglar was doing some serious crapping as the bullets whizzed past him.
Herb
June 28, 2024 at 4:59 pm
What are “professionally trained individuals”?
30 years in the USMC, rifle and pistol expert, and people think I am not professionally trained.
Timothy
June 28, 2024 at 9:51 pm
the thugs in gov’t. write laws to protect the thugs on the street. The system is paid for by taxpayers, but the idiots do all they can to restrict and strangle any logical “rights” we should have. There should be no RAP SHEETS with more than 3 offensives. Time to hold them accountable. OFF with their heads! We the People live free or they DIE !
James Allan
June 28, 2024 at 11:26 pm
Good for her. Cool lady.
DanC
June 29, 2024 at 11:45 pm
Theft in the night. Given 5 shots I would not have missed…