NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio — A North Olmsted homeowner shot an intruder after the intruder forced her way into the residence and began an altercation on Sunday evening, according to the North Olmsted Police Department.
Around 10:52 p.m., officers were called to a home on Mastick Road for report of a shooting.
Once on scene, officers discovered that a 21-year-old woman had forced her way into the residence on Mastick Road and began fighting with one of the homeowners who is 79 years old.
The other homeowner, a 69-year-old woman, fired her gun and struck the intruder in the abdomen/chest area, police said.
"A gun was shot in the house here, somebody tried to get in my house," a caller described to a 911 dispatcher.
Police said the woman who forced her way into the home and was shot was transported to Fairview Hospital where she was later pronounced dead.
The homeowners told police they don't know the intruder.
"They don’t know who this girl is, where she came from," Detective Sgt. Dan Barrett said. "We’re checking with neighbors, nobody knows her."
This marks one of the first cases in Northeast Ohio after the legislature's new "Stand Your Ground" law went into effect this past April.
The law expands where the castle doctrine applies, and how it's handled in the courts. In the past, the defense had to prove self-defense. Now, it's up to the state to prove it was not self-defense.
"[This case is] more of castle law," Barrett added. "Being in your own house and forcing your way in. They protected themselves, and they believed they were being threatened and they took action."
The incident remains under investigation and so far, no charges have been filed.
"Just be careful when you answer your door, make sure you know who they are, get your lights on," Barrett added. "You don't have to answer your door, if you don’t feel safe call the police and we’ll check it out for you."
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
