Police officers and Johnston County sheriff's deputies responded to the 100 block of Parker Street just after 9 p.m. for a report of a breaking and entering in progress with a shooting.
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Police Chief A.Z. Williams told the JoCo Report that it appeared the suspect entered the home's backyard where children were playing outside. He apparently tried to accost an 11-year-old girl, one of three children playing outside.
The two other children ran inside and alerted the parents, Williams told ABC11.
Police said the 23-year-old suspect tried to follow the children inside and violently shook the door handle.
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The homeowner then shot the intruder. The suspect's name has not yet been released.
Williams said the family did not know the attacker. The sheriff's office said the homeowner fully cooperated with detectives and was not arrested.
Williams told ABC11 that this was one of the first violent incidents he could remember in his five years with the department.
At the request of Wilson's Mills Police, the sheriff's office has assumed the investigation.