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Homeowner Shoots Teen Running From Seminole Deputies

Saturday, February 23, 2008 – updated: 9:51 am EST February 25, 2008

A teenager was fatally shot early Saturday as he tried to break into an Altamonte Springs home, apparently in an attempt to hide from deputies who were looking for him after he had acted suspiciously.

According to information provided by the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, 17-year-old Ryan Realford approached an unmarked car driven by a uniformed deputy around 12:30am. The deputy said that Realford had an unidentified substance in his hand and tried to engage him in conversation.

When the teen realized he was talking to a deputy, he took off running, jumping a fence and running toward homes in the area. The deputy called for assistance and, when two other deputies arrived, they heard a gunshot coming from behind a home on Lake Mobile Drive.

As they investigated, Realford came out to the fence of the home and told the original deputy he had been shot. Medical units were summoned and Realford was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center where he died from his injuries.

While the deputies administered first aid, several occupants of the home where the shooting happened said that Realford had removed the rear screen door to their locked porch and attempted to get into the house through a sliding glass window. The homeowner and his wife confronted the young man and, when he refused to leave, he was shot.

Realford lived with family members across from the house where the shooting took place. The sheriff's office said the homeowner is unlikely to be charged.

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