No charges against Alberta man who fatally shot home intruder: RCMP

CALGARY -

No charges will be laid against an Alberta man who shot and killed an intruder after being beaten with a baseball bat, RCMP announced Friday.

The decision was made following an investigation by the RCMP Major Crimes Unit and in consultation with the Crown prosecutor's office.

Police were called to a home in Red Deer County just after 3 p.m. on Monday for reports of a break-and-enter in progress.

As Mounties were racing to the scene, they received an update that one man was injured and another had been shot.

Officers arrived and found a resident of the home injured and a suspect suffering from a gunshot wound.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

"Witnesses reported that the homeowner had arrived home and found the deceased sleeping in the residence.  A confrontation then occurred in which the deceased struck the homeowner numerous times with a baseball bat," police said in a release.

"During the attack, the homeowner was able to retrieve a firearm and shot the deceased one time."

In an interview with CTV Calgary, the resident, who we have agreed not to name, described the situation as "pretty tough."

"I don't wish this on anybody. If I would have know that he was in the house I would never have gone in the house in a million years," he said.

"I would have just waited out front and called police again."

He said the victim is not known to the family but was told he previously lived at the property or worked for the previous owner.

The man said the intruder repeatedly tried to break in over the long weekend while he was on vacation with his wife, but his children ages 13 and 17 were home during two of the break-in attempts.

He said police were called and told the man to stay away.

He added that the whole family was away but then returned Monday afternoon to find the gate open. Screens were pulled off the house and the family's quad was moved.

The windows were still locked but he grabbed his shotgun and went into the house to investigate and told his family to wait in their motorhome.

His 13-year-old daughter captured the chaos of the final moments of the encounter on her cell phone.