Police are minutes away.
Via Statesville Record and Landmark:
Oakly was barking.
That was unusual, because she seldom actually barks, especially at 7:20 a.m.
That’s why Oakly’s owner, Owen Turman, decided to get out of bed and head downstairs to quiet the dog. It was Sunday morning, after all.
What Turman didn’t expect was a strange man in his outdoor sunroom, trying to get into the house.
Turman, who lives on Culpepper Road off Wilkesboro Highway, quickly snatched his .22-caliber bolt-action rifle and went around back to confront the stranger.
“I saw him turn the handle on my door and twist real hard trying to get in,” said Turman, recounting the events of April 8. “When I saw that, I instantly put my rifle up at him.”
He asked the man what he was doing, told him to get away from the door and to lie on the ground. The stranger followed orders, but didn’t answer questions, like who he was or what he was doing. Turman, still in his underwear, called police.
And he waited.
His fiancé and two daughters, one 6 years old and the other an infant, remained inside, unaware of what had unfolded outside.
“My main concern was I have to protect my home and my family,” Turman said. “The only thing I was thinking (was) keeping my family safe.”
He couldn’t help but worry about the possibility of his oldest daughter coming downstairs and finding her dad pointing a gun at another man. He was worried he’d have to shoot someone in front of his little girl.
“I want her to know home is a safe place,” he said.
Turman said that while the suspect lay on the ground, he began rummaging through his pockets. He kept trying to take needles out of his pockets and throw them under Turman’s vehicle, Turman recalled.[…]
Turman, who has had trouble sleeping since the incident, said he knows things could have ended differently.
What if the suspect hadn’t followed Turman’s order? What if he had fought against Turman? Would Turman have pulled the trigger?
He paused for a long while.
“If it came down to it, my family is most important,” Turman finally said. “I would have taken the shot if it came down to it.”