JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A rifle-toting intruder was sent to the hospital Friday afternoon after struggling with a Northside resident during a robbery attempt, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
Police said a witness called 911 just before 1 p.m. after he walked up to his friend's house on Tiki Lane and spotted a man who wasn't his friend holding a rifle inside the home.
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According to the police report, the man with the rifle, who was wearing a black mask over half his face, beckoned the witness inside, but the witness ran from the home. The witness said that, as he was calling 911, he heard a gunshot go off in the home.
Police said the home invasion victim used the momentary distraction to try to disarm the intruder and the rifle went off in the struggle. No one was hit by the gunfire.
According to the JSO report, the victim said that, after the rifle went off, he grabbed it from the intruder and then used it to hit the intruder in the head. The victim said he then gouged the intruder's eyes with his fingers until police arrived at the home.
When officers went inside, they found the victim sitting on top of the intruder, whom police identified as Timothy Hinson. Police said there was blood all over the kitchen floor.
Hinson, 34, suffered critical injuries during the struggle and was taken to UF Health, where he was last listed in stable condition, police said.
The resident suffered only scrapes and bruises and was not taken to a hospital.
Hinson is charged with home invasion robbery with a firearm.