A San Francisco man did not receive the treat he may have been expecting when he broke into an apartment on Friday.
Instead, after climbing through a kitchen window, he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun. On the other end was the 66-year-old resident. The burglar initially attempted to flee but then reversed course and turned towards the armed resident, who then fired a shot.
The shot did not hit the burglar, but it caused him to run down the nearest stairs. The armed resident was able to apprehend the burglar and hold him at gunpoint until help arrived, according to a press release from the San Francisco Police Department.
Estimates for how many Americans use guns in defensive shootings vary significantly. However, a 2013 study from The National Academies Institute of Medicine and National Research Council found estimates for defensive gun uses significantly outpace estimates for criminal gun uses. The study said the estimates range from half a million defensive uses per year to three million.
Police identified 37-year-old Danny Babineaux as the attempted burglar. He is currently being held at the San Francisco County Jail on charges of first and second-degree burglary.
A man of the same age and by the same name was arrested last October in a pair of stabbings, according to The San Francisco News. He was accused of stabbing a 41-year-old man and a 39-year-old woman. He was booked at the same jail for attempted murder with a weapons enhancement.
The armed resident, who police say fended off Babineaux and then held him at gunpoint until he could be arrested, was not harmed during the home invasion.