Monday, December 8, 2008

Florida: Woman shoots home invader through abdomen

Lynn Haven, Florida

From the Northwest Florida Daily News of December 5, 2008
Woman shoots home invader through abdomen

Lynn Haven police were looking Friday for two suspects in a home invasion and attempted robbery.

Melissa Galarza, of 817 Bradford Circle, answered a knock on her door Thursday evening, and two white males charged into the home and demanded "the money," a Lynn Haven officer wrote in an incident report.

One of the men punched Galarza in the face twice and knocked her to the floor. The men covered her mouth to keep her from screaming and kept demanding the money, reports said.

While on the floor, Galarza remembered she had a gun within reach on the bottom shelf of her coffee table. She drew the weapon, and the two men backed off before charging at her again. Galarza said she fired in self-defense, and the men fled her home together, report said.

Galarza suffered minor injuries in the incident, officials said.

Galarza's bullet went through the abdomen of one of the suspects, 26-year-old Matthew Andrews, officials said.

Andrews went to a local hospital, where he was treated for his injuries. While at the hospital, Andrews was met by the Panama City Police Department and an investigator questioned him about the wound, said Capt. Mark Aviles.

Andrews told the investigator he was the victim of a robbery on 15th Street but that he did not want to file a police report and did not want to speak with officers further, Aviles said.

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