These posts are based on our Good Guy with a Gun calendar. (Do you have yours yet?) Today’s post is somewhat updated from the calendar version.
Around four on a Sunday morning, a man in Champaign was fighting a stranger inside his own house.
The homeowner had a gun. In the struggle, he fired multiple shots.
He got hurt, too. Police said he was “injured in the discharge of the weapon,” which seems to mean that a bullet from his own gun caught him in the arm during the struggle.
I wonder if that means he was squeamish about pulling the trigger and waited until the man was too close. I understand the hesitation, but that might have made the outcome worse than it needed to be.
Regardless, officers arrived to find two wounded men, and they started emergency aid with the fire department. The homeowner’s arm wound wasn’t life-threatening, and he went to the hospital in stable condition.
The intruder, 21-year-old Emmanuel Becerril-Perez of Urbana, died. The coroner’s release was brief:
Preliminary information indicates that Mr. Becerril-Perez suffered multiple gunshot wounds while engaged in a physical altercation with the homeowner.
State’s Attorney Julia Rietz later said investigators found no relationship between the two men.
By daylight the scene was taped off, with several police cars on hand, and a steady stream of passersby and dog-walkers came by to look.
It’s usually a quiet neighborhood.
About a week later, after a road-rage shooting in Urbana, WCIA went to Rietz for a primer on Illinois use-of-force law and pointed to this case as an example. “What happens inside a residence is a little broader than what is allowable outside,” she said. In a house, she explained, deadly force can be justified if you believe the other person is going to commit a felony inside, or if the entry is violent enough to make you believe you’re in danger.
Urbana attorney Anthony Bruno gave the station the short version: “If you believe somebody is coming into your home to do you harm or somebody else harm, you can shoot them and kill them.”
About five weeks later, Rietz said her preliminary review found the homeowner’s use of deadly force justified. She was waiting on final toxicology results before making the decision final.
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Sources
Primary
Champaign Police Investigating Death in Home Invasion (Champaign Police Department)
News release, November 10, 2024 (Champaign County Coroner)
News
WCIA’s coverage included the original incident, the state’s attorney’s use-of-force explainer, and the preliminary review.
UPDATE: Champaign Co. Coroner identifies man involved in home invasion (Original incident; read as syndicated on Yahoo! from WCIA)
Champaign Co. State’s Attorney breaks down legalities behind ‘use of force’ following 2 shootings (Explainer)
Preliminary review: Deadly force justified in Champaign home invasion (Preliminary review; read as syndicated on Yahoo!)
The News-Gazette ran two articles, first on the shooting, then on the end of the police investigation.
UPDATE: Man killed during home invasion ID’d (Original incident)
Investigation closing on home invasion which led to death of intruder (Follow-up)
Home invasion in Champaign turns deadly (WAND; archived copy)
Man dies after being shot during home invasion in Champaign (The Daily Illini)
UPDATE: Champaign police investigating death in home invasion (Chambana Today, via EZ 99.7)
2A / specialist media
Homeowner Fatally Shoots Intruder During Violent Home Invasion in Champaign, IL (USA Carry)
Self-defense in Downstate Illinois (wheelgunr)