Cougar Mountain Homeowner Shoots Intruder

A homeowner shot and wounded an intruder shortly before 1 p.m. Friday after the intruder had broken into his home in the Montreux neighborhood, the Issaquah Police Department reported.

The homeowner, 56, shot the suspect, a Tacoma man in his mid-20s, after the suspect broke into the residence on the 18500 block of Northwest Montreux Drive.

The resident was inside the home when he heard somebody ringing the doorbell, according to a city press release. He looked outside and, because he did not recognize the man at the door, ignored the doorbell.

A few moments later, the suspect threw an object through a glass front door to enter the home. The homeowner heard a loud crash and saw that the suspect had come inside.

The men struggled, and the homeowner fired two shots from his handgun, striking the suspect once in the shoulder.

A delivery truck driver observed the scuffle, heard the shot and made the initial 911 call at about 1:05 p.m.

The intruder, a Tacoma man in his mid 20s, was transported to Harborview Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries, according to police. He has not yet been charged.

The homeowner was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Issaquah Deputy Police Chief Steve Cozart said the repeated ringing or knocking on doors is a common tactic used in residential burglary to find unoccupied homes.

"If they don't have a reasonable excuse for being there, feel free to call the police," Cozart said. "This is a very typical technique for burglars."

As of 5 p.m. Friday, Northwest Village Park Drive is open to traffic, but Northwest Montreux Drive remains closed pending the conclusion of the police investigation at the scene.

About a block away from the shooting, neighbor Tom Urban and his daughter Madeleine were at home when she was the first to hear a gunshot. Urban was outside mowing his lawn and didn't know what had happened until his daughter told him.

"It sounded kind of high-pitched," she said. "It wasn't what I expected a gun to sound like."

Urban said he goes hunting and has guns in the house, and agreed that it was a good thing that the homeowner had shot the intruder. He said he'd noticed criminal activity in the neighborhood seemed to be on the rise. Last Tuesday, someone had prowled his SUV, though he hadn't heard of any burglaries in the neighborhood.