Burglary suspect shot after telling homeowner: ‘Give me that gun before you hurt yourself, old man’

MANILA, Ark. (KAIT) - When a Mississippi County man awoke to find a burglar in his house, he told him to leave. Then the suspect told him to hand over his gun. Sheriff’s deputies say that’s when the homeowner shot him.

The victim told deputies he awoke around 3 a.m. Tuesday to a loud noise at his house on East 1st Street.

The homeowner grabbed his gun and began searching the home. In the living room, he found a man he did not know.

The victim told the suspected burglar to leave.

But the man ignored him, according to Sheriff Dale Cook, and began fixing himself something to eat and drink.

Once again, the homeowner told the man to leave.

Instead, the suspect began unplugging the television.

When the victim told him to leave again, the suspect reportedly said: “Give me that gun before you hurt yourself, old man.”

The homeowner then fired one shot at the man, striking him in the leg.

When officers arrived, they found 47-year-old Charles Lancaster of Keiser across the street, suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg.

He was taken to a Jonesboro hospital and treated for his injuries before being arrested and charged with residential burglary.

Lancaster is currently being held at the Mississippi County Detention Center in lieu of a $75,000 bond.

Copyright 2019 KAIT. All rights reserved.