GA Sheriff Issues Warning After Armed Citizen Stops ‘Deranged’ Man From Climbing Through Child’s Window

A sheriff in Georgia is praising the actions of an armed homeowner who stopped a would-be intruder from gaining access to a child’s bedroom, while also issuing a warning to other criminals in the county. 

Butts County Sheriff Gary Long says a man named Abdul Aquil is in custody in connection with the break-in, and is lucky to be alive after his encounter with the armed citizen. Aquil allegedly first tried to gain entry to the home through a bedroom window with a child on the other side, but the child’s father heard the commotion and interrupted the burglar as he was crawling inside. 

Long said the father of the child “challenged the intruder and the suspect exited the window.”

According to Long, the father then went to his room and got a gun as Aquil busted the living room window, trying to get inside.

The father fired his gun, missing the suspect, but causing the suspect to run away.

Long said in a Facebook post, “The shot fired by the homeowner was UNFORTUNATELY about 8 inches too high, missing the intruder, which would have resulted in his death.”

Thankfully the errant shot didn’t hit anyone else either, but it did cause the suspect to turn tail and run away. Deputies caught up with Aquil a short distance away and took him into custody after what the sheriff’s office calls a “brief altercation” with law enforcement, and at last report he’s cooling his heels in the Butts County Jail. 

Long, meanwhile, has two messages for residents of Butts County. In that Facebook post he “strongly” encouraged citizens who can legally possess a firearm to get their hands on one and attend a gun safety class hosted by the sheriff’s office, adding that “if the homeowner last night was not a gun owner, I am afraid the outcome could have been much different.

The sheriff’s message for those in Butts County who might be thinking of engaging in a little late-night burglary, on the other hand, is a warning that they should be aware they may very well come across a homeowner who won’t miss. 

“To the criminals, listen up and pay close attention, if you decide to break into a home in Butts County, make sure you are ready to meet your maker. My staff and I will spend as much time as it takes to make sure the citizens of this County are well-trained, educated and capable of making great shots to protect their family and homes. So, unless you are prepared to die, I would highly recommend you to find a home in another County to burglarize, because this is not the one.”

Aquil is currently facing a litany of charges; including burglary, home invasion, terroristic threats, first-degree cruelty to children, and second-degree criminal damage to property. If convicted, Aquil could spend the next decade or more behind bars. In fact, Georgia’s home invasion statute has a mandatory minimum ten-year sentence, so Aquil is guaranteed to live out the next few years in custody if he’s found guilty on that charge alone. 

The armed homeowner who defended their family isn’t facing any charges, and it sounds like it didn’t take investigators long at all to figure out that his errant shot was a justifiable use of force. Some range time might be in order, but thankfully the shot he fired didn’t need to strike its intended target to stop the threat posed by the would-be intruder.