BUNNELL, Fla. — A Flagler County mother shot a man who deputies said forced his way into her home and threatened her and her two children.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said the shooting happened Sunday afternoon at a home on Big Bear Lane.
Deputies said the homeowner called 911 around 1:50 p.m. and reported that she had shot a man who entered her home.
When deputies arrived, they found blood at the scene, but the man and his vehicle were gone, according to the sheriff’s office.
Detectives later identified the man as Michael McDonald, 33, of Palm Coast.
According to deputies, McDonald knew the homeowner but showed up at the house uninvited and unexpected.
The sheriff’s office said McDonald lifted open the garage door, left the garage, banged on a back window and then entered the home through the front door.
Once inside, deputies said McDonald aggressively confronted the woman and her two children in the foyer and made threats.
The woman repeatedly ordered McDonald to leave and warned him she would shoot, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies said McDonald kept advancing toward her.
That’s when the woman fired one shot, hitting McDonald in the arm, investigators said.
McDonald then left in a silver Kia SUV.
Deputies later found the SUV at AdventHealth, where they conducted a felony stop and detained McDonald. He was taken inside the hospital for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening.
The homeowner and her two children were not hurt.
“Florida is a stand your ground state and when someone invades your home and threatens you and your family, they will likely be shot,” Sheriff Rick Staly said in a news release. “I strongly support the 2nd Amendment, and this is proof why we have the stand your ground law. This violent re-offender has not learned his lesson. Hopefully, he will now as his bad decision could have cost him his life.”
McDonald was arrested on a charge of burglary with assault.
He was taken to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where deputies said he is being held without bond pending arraignment.
The sheriff’s office said McDonald has a criminal history that includes arrests for grand theft, possession of controlled substances, resisting, obstruction, possession with intent to sell, DUI and robbery with a firearm.
The investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office non-emergency line at 386-313-4911 or Crime Stoppers at 1-888-277-TIPS.
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