Mesquite woman shoots at burglar, scaring him off, police say

MESQUITE, Texas - Mesquite police are looking for a burglary suspect who ran from the home after the homeowner shot at him.

Police were called to the home on Anita Drive near Jane Street around 10:40 a.m. 

The woman said she was working from home and took a break. When she came back, she saw a man wearing a mask had opened a window and was removing items from inside the house.

She spoke to FOX 4 just hours after facing a burglar in her backyard but asked that we not show her face or use her name.

"A little scared. There is nothing more I can do is go on and protect my family," she said.

She says she was working from home around 10:30 a.m. Monday when she noticed a window was wide open in her office. Her children were at school, and her husband was at work. 

"I peeked out, and my plants weren’t on my window. I went into my kitchen and grabbed my handgun. And then I looked out and saw someone was in my backyard," she recalled. "I opened the door and said, ‘What are you doing in my yard?’ And he charged towards me, and I unloaded them." 

The woman wasn’t sure if she struck the burglar but quickly called 911. 

Mesquite police say the man was not hit, and the woman fired the pistol into the ground. 

"He ran off apologizing. He jumped right back over the fence, and he was gone," she said.

Mesquite officer quickly arrived on scene and searched the woods across the street from the home, but the burglar got away.

She told investigators the man was wearing a mask, so it was difficult to see his face. 

Neighbor Angie Walker heard the sirens and ran out to snap a photo. 

"When you see a lot of policemen like that, it has to be something pretty bad," she said.

Once Walker heard what happened, she was left shaken this happened in her neighborhood of over 20 years. 

"These are new people, and we want to take care of them. But in this a good neighborhood, we will take care of them," she said.

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The victim’s family just moved from Dallas to Mesquite last month. The mother says she grabbed her gun, ready to keep her home safe. 

"I had to. I have seven kids to live for. I work hard for what I have," she said.

The woman says she learned a lesson from the incident.

"Keep all my windows closed and all my guns loaded," she said.

Mesquite police say this is an ongoing investigation.

Since the burglar was wearing a mask, police don’t have a description to provide that would be helpful.