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Deputies: Mother defending home shot, killed intruder

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla.,None — A woman shot and killed a home invader after he opened fire and shot her in the arm, according the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies in Apopka said two armed men broke into a garage of a home on 18th Street and Leroy Court at about 12:30 a.m. on Friday and demanded money from the woman's boyfriend, Lionel Griffin.

Griffin said he gave them money, but they demanded more.

"I told the man, 'Please don't kill me man.' I gave them all I had. It's all I had," Griffin said.

The men then forced Griffin inside the home.

"He told me to close the garage," said Griffin. "He hit me across the head and told me to take him inside."

The men forced Griffin inside and were tying him up when one of the intruders saw the woman with the gun and shot her first, according to deputies.

"He put me on the floor and strapped-tied me," Griffin said.
The woman was shot in the arm, but she fired back, hitting the intruder, deputies said.
"At some point shortly after they came into the residence multiple rounds were fired," said Jeff Williamson, with the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

The family said they believe they may have been targeted because they had returned from Walmart where they spent a lot of money. They had just unloaded several gifts from their vehicle.

Relatives said Griffin's three sons, ages 14, 8 and 3, were also roughed up. They watched as their father was pistol-whipped.

Deputies said Griffin's neighbor and brother-in-law heard the struggle and also shot the same man in the front yard.
"And that person also fired rounds, multiple rounds apparently appeared to be fired by multiple persons," said Williamson.

So far, deputies believe that the woman's shot killed the intruder.

The woman who was shot in the arm is recovering at Orlando Regional Medical Center. Her name was not released.

"I call her super woman because she saved the day. She's a very courageous woman. "I appreciate her," Griffin said.

Orange County deputies said the other home invader ran away injured.

WFTV

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