In an act of self-defense, a California woman fatally shot a man armed with a knife outside her residence on Friday evening.
California woman caps armed intruder
The incident began when the woman made a 911 call at 9:20 pm, alerting authorities to a man with a knife outside her home in Monrovia, a suburb of Los Angeles.
The attacker, who the woman had a previous relationship with and had already filed a restraining order against, allegedly attempted to stab her and another man present at the home before she shot him.
According to Fox11, police discovered the attacker, Thanh Cong Le, 42, deceased with a gunshot wound to the chest, when they arrived on scene. They questioned both the woman and the other man but did not detain them.
According to a neighbor, the woman had rented the property six months prior and resided there with her teenage daughter.
The man who was present that evening was a frequent guest and that all three tended to keep a low-profile in the sleepy neighborhood, where residents have been left shaken by the incident.
Neighborhood rocked after California woman fatally shoots knife-wielding suspect
“We heard just the one ‘pop’ and my wife was getting ready for bed, and she goes, ‘was that a gunshot?’ And I was like,’I think that was,’” area resident Paul Lazaer told the outlet.
“Then we saw the police cars kind of speeding past. There are nine of them, and we’re like, that’s not, you know, this is Monrovia and nothing happens.”
Another neighbor said that he “found the knife” the suspect used when he was out for a walk near the home.
“I just saw something lying on the ground. I thought maybe it was like a leaf or something,” they said. “You know, normal things that you’d see on the street. And then I looked closer and I was like, ‘whoa, that’s a knife.’”
“It’s a little traumatizing, I’m not gonna lie,” a different neighbor told Fox11. “I went outside, and I saw him in the driveway, and the police escorted me into the house to ask me questions about what was going on.”
Police discovered multiple knives and a firearm at the scene. They have yet to determine the events leading up to the incident, but the LA County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau is actively investigating.
Le was convicted of domestic violence in February 2021, and pleaded no contest to the charge in his November 2022 sentencing.
As part of his plea deal, charges for assault with a deadly weapon and violating a protective order were dropped.
He was sentenced to four years in prison, but was credited three and a half years for time in custody and other credits that saw him back on the streets to once again attempt to dangerously violate a protective order.
Homeowner let’s burglar know he picked the wrong house
In a separate incident, a homeowner in St. Louis County shot an intruder who was attempting to ransack their home last week.
KDSK-TV reported that police responded to a burglary call in the the early hours of last Tuesday.
27-year-old Andre Farrar III had broken into the home and attempted to steal items by tossing them out of a window, when he was discovered by the homeowner, who shot him.
Farrar, who has been previously convicted of burglary in St. Louis on more than one occasion, had already attempted to break into another home that night, before choosing the wrong residence to rob.
After taking a bullet, the suspect fled the home and had the misfortune of running past responding officers, who ordered him to stop and arrested him.
The man and woman who were home at the time of the attempted robbery were taken to the St. Louis County Police Department for questioning.
Investigators also canvassed the neighborhood to see if any nearby security cameras had captured any of the crime or shooting.
Farrar was transported to a local hospital in critical condition and was admitted, before being released into police custody.
The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged him with first-degree burglary, first-degree attempted burglary, and resisting arrest with a felony.
He is being held on a $200,000 cash-only bond according to police.
