MARION COUNTY, Fla. – An Ocala woman shot an intruder on Sunday after he broke into her home and tried to enter her bedroom closet where she was hiding, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.
The suspect, Victor Alex Etherington, was transported to the hospital where he is currently in stable condition.
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Marion County deputies responded to the woman's home in northwest Ocala Sunday night. They say the victim, who will not be named at this time, was in her kitchen when Etherington began knocking on her window, demanding to come inside.
She didn't recognize him and told him to leave.
Etherington kicked her door open and she ran upstairs to her bedroom, called 911, locked the door and armed herself with a .22 caliber handgun, deputies said.
Etherington followed her to the bedroom so she locked herself in the closet, MCSO said.
He forced his way into the bedroom, took off his shorts, which he had defecated in, and broke into the closet where the homeowner was hiding, Marion County deputies said.
The woman fired one round, striking him in the abdomen.
Deputies arrived and found Etherington naked, hiding behind the bedroom door, investigators said.
Etherington underwent surgery at Ocala Regional Medical Center.
He is not known to the victim, but detectives believe he previously lived at the home for approximately 12 years. Deputies said they believe Etherington was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the break-in.
Charges against Etherington are pending and a mug shot will be taken once he's released from the hospital and booked into jail.