A business owner and grandfather in Rancho Cordova, California, said he shot a burglar in the early morning hours of Nov. 24 in an effort to protect his grandsons, who were sleeping in the back of the store at the time.
"My babies were with me, and he was going to attack me," the 70-year-old business owner named Robert told Fox News Digital. Robert opted not to share his last name for privacy reasons.
The Sacramento Sheriff's Office confirmed the shooting on Nov. 25, saying they received a 911 call at 1:15 a.m. on Nov. 24, a Sunday, from a business owner on Folsom Boulevard "stating that someone broke into his business and he shot them."
Officers with the Rancho Cordova Police Department and Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to the scene, where they began lifesaving aid on the suspect. Authorities then transported the suspect to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Robert said he and his two grandsons, ages 4 and 14, were asleep in the back room when the burglar allegedly broke in through his front store window.
The burglar proceeded to walk through his store, past racks of items such as expensive leather jackets, and toward the back room where Robert and his grandsons were sleeping, Robert said.
Robert's 14-year-old grandson was awake at the time and heard a noise, at which point he "jumped on" Robert to wake him up and tell him that someone was in the store. Robert went to get his gun – one his father gave him in 1958 that is registered in Robert's name – and within seconds, the burglar allegedly tried to kick in the door to the backroom where Robert and his grandsons were.
Robert said the door made a loud "boom" sound, and the suspect shone a flashlight in his direction when the door opened.
"I had only been awake for about five minutes. I'm three feet from the door but five feet from him," Robert recalled. "I thought I got shot."
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Robert also said that the burglar was wielding a butane torch and holding it toward him when he entered the back room. Robert initially thought the torch was a gun, and he fired at the suspect.
"He charged at me. He didn't run away," Robert said. "He had an intent to come in the building and kill me."
After sustaining a gunshot wound, the burglar walked out of and away from Robert's store, at which point Robert called 911 and authorities arrived.
Robert said he has been robbed at gunpoint three times. Burglars normally go for the leather jackets, he said, but Robert believes in this instance, the burglar was going to try to kill him and take his money.
The sheriff's office said detectives and crime scene investigators "responded to the scene, began their investigation, interviewed witnesses, and began to gather evidence."
"Based on their investigation, [d]etectives learned the subject broke in through the front of the business and then attempted to gain access to a rear living area occupied by the business owner and two minor grandchildren," the sheriff's office said. "The business owner shot the subject, who retreated back out through the front and collapsed in a nearby parking lot."
Authorities have not made any arrests in connection with the incident, and an investigation is ongoing, "pending the autopsy, forensics, and other items," the sheriff's office said.
Robert teared up while recalling the incident.
"You don't have time to think," he said. "If he were 25 feet away from me, I would have said, ‘I’ve got a gun.'"
But in the moment, Robert recalled his only thought being "my babies next to me are going to die" if he didn't act.
Robert said that in the days since the shooting, he has been unable to sleep and fearful of retribution, but he's just thankful that his grandchildren are still alive.
