An Ashford Creek Drive townhome resident shot a burglary suspect around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday morning who police say attempted to break into the home in the gated townhome community off Ashford Dunwoody Road.
Officials said the burglary suspect rang the home’s doorbell several times. When he got no response, he kicked in the front door and went in. It was inside where he came across the resident, who fired one shot, hitting the intruder in the head.
Brookhaven police spokesman Maj. Brandon Gurley said the male suspect was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital and was undergoing surgery as of 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Gurley said police in and around Brookhaven have been seeing numerous incidents similar to Wednesday’s break-in attempt in recent weeks.
“Daytime burglaries are up all over, not just here, not just Atlanta, but all over,” he said. “It goes up every holiday season anyway, with people stocking their houses with Christmas presents and everywhere else. And it’s not uncommon for us to have incidents where people knock on doors or ring doorbells to see if anyone’s home before they break into a house or apartment.
“That is something we constantly warn residents of — during the day, if they see strange vehicles or people, to call us and let us investigate and find out what those people are doing in the neighborhood,” he added.
Gurley said investigators will be looking at the suspect in Wednesday’s incident to see if he may be responsible for any other daytime burglaries.
Officials said the resident involved in Wednesday’s incident has been cooperating with detectives. The incident remains under investigation, and no charges have been filed at this time.
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