Around noon, Wagoner County sheriff’s deputies were called to the Broken Arrow home, located southeast of Tulsa. When they arrived, they found the three suspects and two residents. The residents were not injured, but all three suspects were dead.
Nick Mahoney, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, said the suspects’ intentions were to burglarize the home after they entered it through a glass back door. As of now, nobody is sure why the suspects chose that home.
Mahoney said the homeowner’s 23-year-old son shot the three with an AR-15. Two of the suspects were 16 or 17 and the third was 18 or 19. The three were wearing masks, gloves and dressed in black. They were also armed with a knife and brass knuckles.
Homeowner in Oklahoma shoots and kills three burglars and the trigger happy religious fanatics praise him as he did gods work smh ♂️
— Malek (@King_Mal_Pal) March 27, 2017
Three would-be robbers were shot and killed Monday when an Oklahoma homeowner's son opened fire on them with an AR-15. 2nd Ammendment works
— Dragon Hunt (@DragonHunt68) March 27, 2017
Police said it looks like an act of self-defense. Mahoney did say there’s speculation as to whether or not the Stand Your Ground law applies in this specific incident. He added that he doesn’t know the answer to that question.
A fourth suspect was arrested, but she surrendered to police. Elizabeth Rodriguez, 21, was the alleged getaway driver. She is now facing three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of burglar. Oklahoma laws allows authorities to charge her with first-degree murder. Rodriguez’s first court appearance is April 5 and she is currently being held on no bond.
Both the homeowner and the son gave statements to police. The investigation will remain open and the district attorney will decide whether or not the son should be charged. For now, authorities are approaching the shooting as an act of self-defense.
