77-year-old Californian arrested after fatal shooting of suspected burglar in Oakland

OAKLAND, Calif. (NewsNation) — A 77-year-old California man is being held on suspicion of murder after police say he shot and killed a suspected burglar who tried to break into his home.

Although the homeowner remains in police custody, he has not yet been charged. Under California law, prosecutors have 48 hours to file charges before a suspect must be released from custody.

Alleged attempted break-in

According to police, two men and a woman drove a stolen vehicle to the man’s home in East Oakland, a neighborhood that has been plagued by crime in recent years. The suspected burglars made several attempts to break into the house. When nothing worked, they climbed over the garden fence.

The homeowner then shot at them, killing one of the three suspected burglars, according to police.

According to police, one of the reasons for the homeowner’s arrest was his refusal to make a statement.

Arrest of the homeowner

“When A shoots B without explanation, all we can do is make do with what we have. A weapon was recovered at the scene, so the person was taken into custody,” said Frederick Shavies, deputy chief of investigations for the Oakland Police Department.

The police have not yet released the name of the victim, they would like to inform the family first. They have also not yet publicly released the name of the house owner.

The homeowner is said to have shot the burglars with a stolen gun.

Shavies confirmed that the investigation into the incident is still ongoing.