A physical struggle between a homeowner and a pair of armed Arizona home invasion suspects ended with the homeowner gaining control of a suspect’s gun and fatally shooting him with it.
Homeowner Fights Back
The unidentified homeowner told ABC15 Arizona that he was at his Apache Junction home alone at around 11 a.m. on Saturday when two armed men he had never seen before stormed in. The men quickly demanded money.
“The brains of the outfit, he put a gun to my head and said, ‘It’s a good day to die, isn’t it?'” the homeowner recalled. “He had a cigarette in his mouth and I said, ‘Please don’t smoke in my house.’ He said, ‘F*** you’ and whacked me with his gun.”
The homeowner made a split-second decision to fight back.
“They immediately panicked,” the homeowner said. “They didn’t think I was going to resist at all.”
The homeowner started punching at the suspects while the two men swung their guns at him. At some point during the fight, the homeowner managed to get a hold of one of the suspects’ guns.
That’s when the homeowner opened fire, fatally shooting one of the intruders. The other intruder, later identified as 34-year-old Aaron Ryan, immediately fled the scene.
“I gave as good as I got to both of them,” the homeowner said. “They’re both taller than me, half my age and they had loaded weapons in my home that they brought, and I shot and killed a man with his own gun.”
Arizona Home Invasion Suspect Arrested
Police transported the homeowner to a hospital, where he was treated for his injuries and released. The intruder who was shot was pronounced dead at the hospital.
A two-day manhunt for Ryan ensued. The Arizona Republic reports that on Monday at around 2:45 a.m., a deputy with the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office was conducting a routine traffic stop on a 2006 Nissan sedan. The vehicle had temporary tags, and when the driver gave the deputy false information, he asked the man to step out of the car.
The man instead pushed the deputy and started running away. Police quickly caught up with him, arrested him and identified him as Ryan. He was charged with aggravated assault on an officer, resisting arrest and possession of dangerous drugs. He is also facing charges of armed robbery, burglary and assault stemming from the failed home invasion.
Police are still on the hunt for a third suspect in connection with the home invasion, 36-year-old Rachael Ryan.
