SULTAN (AP) — An 80-year-old woman fatally shot a man who broke into her home north of Seattle and stabbed her husband, authorities said.
Steven N. Sheppard, 25, of Gold Bar died of multiple gunshot wounds, the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office said Friday.
A 75-year-old man told deputies he was watching television Thursday night at his Sultan-area home when he saw Sheppard on the back porch, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office said.
He said Sheppard broke down a door to enter the home and that Sheppard hit him on the head and began stabbing him.
The homeowner’s 80-year-old wife told police she heard a noise and went to investigate. She told police she saw Sheppard standing over her husband with a knife and went to a bedroom, returning with a gun.
“(She) comes out, fires several shots and kills him,” Merlin Halverson, Snohomish County Fire District 5 chief, told KOMO-TV .
Police said Sheppard was dead when they arrived.
The homeowner suffered abdominal stab wounds and was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, said Shari Ireton with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office. He was listed in serious condition in intensive care Friday afternoon, the sheriff’s office said.
The woman and the couple’s 45-year-old son, who also was in the home during the incident, reportedly were not injured.
Detectives believe the man was attempting to burglarize the home and that he didn’t know the residents.
The residents have not been named. The woman hasn’t been arrested.
Detectives are investigating the incident and said charges, if any, would be recommended to the prosecuting attorney’s office when the investigation is complete.
Detectives believe Sheppard was attempting to burglarize the home and that he didn’t know the residents. It appeared he was looking for drugs, Halverson said, noting pill bottles near the man’s body.
