John Croft, 79, shoots, kills burglar after 13 break-ins: ‘I’ve been a prisoner in my house’

An Alabama man whose home has been robbed 13 times since last summer shot and killed a burglar Wednesday.

John Croft, 79, woke up early Wednesday morning to hear the command, “Don’t move.” The Center Point homeowner pulled out his personal handgun and then fired when the teenage suspect in his bedroom used a racial epithet.

“I’ve been a prisoner in my house,” Mr. Croft told a local Fox News affiliate. “When I heard the noise, that’s when they opened the window from the basement coming to the level where the bedrooms are. I have three bedrooms. I think they checked the other two bedrooms out and then he came over there and said, ’Don’t move!’ He heard the bed squeak. I was getting my gun. He said, ’Don’t move’ and he used the N-word and I shot.”

The victim, who was also shot in the ankle, said he takes no joy in the boy’s death but does not regret shooting him.

“I just hate to meet his mother because it was a teen,” Mr. Croft said. “And there’s nothing as precious to a mom as a son. And you know what’s been happening to black boys today. For another black man to shoot one don’t look good. But like I say, I had no choice.”

Police did not identify the deceased individual and are looking for two other suspects.

Mr. Croft will not be charged with any crimes since his actions were made in self-defense, officials told the station.