How Else Was ‘He Gonna Get His Money?’: Relatives Outraged After Homeowner Shoots, Kills Burglary Suspect
A Miami woman shot and killed a teenage home intruder last week, authorities said. Now, relatives of the teen are saying she acted unjustly and should be prosecuted.
Trevon Johnson, 17, burglarized the home of a 54-year-old old woman last Thursday, according to Miami-Dade police.
Image source: WFOR-TV
The woman told police that she was not home when the break-in occurred, but her surveillance system alerted her that there was an intruder. She said she rushed home and found the teen climbing out of a window.
“She observed a subject leaving the home through the rear,” police Detective Dan Ferrin told WFOR-TV.
A confrontation then took place, according to police, and shots were fired. Police said they were on scene seconds after the shooting and performed CPR on the teen. Johnson was then rushed to the hospital where doctors pronounced him dead.
“What’s wrong with her?” Johnson’s sister Nisha Johnson asked. “She did not have to shoot him.”
Johnson told WFOR her brother was a student at D. A. Dorsey Technical College. She and other relatives are outraged by the shooting.
Nautika Harris, right, says she is outraged by her cousin’s death. (Image source: WFOR-TV)
“I don’t care if she have her gun license or any of that. That is way beyond the law … way beyond,” Johnson’s cousin Nautika Harris told WFOR. “He was not supposed to die like this. He had a future ahead of him. Trevon had goals … he was a funny guy, very big on education, loved learning.”
“You have to look at it from every child’s point of view that was raised in the hood,” Harris continued. “You have to understand … how he gonna get his money to have clothes to go to school? You have to look at it from his point of view.”
Thus far, police appear to be siding with the homeowner who they say was protecting her property.
“She’s a person that is a little distraught because this is her home that someone obviously was in,” Ferrin said.
Police said the woman was taken to a police station for questioning and has cooperated with detectives.
Investigators told WFOR that they are still investigating the incident, but in the meantime, they want the public to remember that, if possible, it is best not to take these types of situations into one’s own hands.
“If there’s any type of situation that happens or they believe there’s a burglary at the home or any type of confrontation, dial 911. Have the police make that confrontation,” Ferrin said. “That’s what we’re here for.”
The case has been handed over to state attorney’s office, but so far, no charges have been filed against the homeowner.
“It’s no reason she should have waited until I think he walked out the yard to try to shoot him,” Harris said. “If she called the police already, why would she shoot him?”
Relatives told WFOR they don’t believe Johnson stole anything from the woman’s home, but detectives would not confirm that.
(H/T: WFOR-TV)