If this would-be home intruder thought the home of an elderly World War II veteran and his wife was an easy target, he obviously thought wrong.
Jan Cooper, 72, and her wheelchair-bound husband were in their Southern California home late Sunday night when she heard an intruder whom she believed was trying to break into their house.
Cooper quickly grabbed her .357 Smith & Wesson Revolver and called 9-1-1 in an attempt to protect herself and her husband, the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier reported.
Cooper called the police and can be heard pleading with authorities to send help. The woman yelled at the intruder, telling him she had a gun and was not afraid to use it.
But before the authorities had a chance to arrive, Cooper saw the suspect try to enter through the back porch.
“I’m firing,” she shouted to the dispatcher as she pulled the trigger.
She then proceeded to yell, “Back up you son of a b***h!”
According to the Iowa newspaper, the would-be intruder, startled by the gun fire, began apologizing.
“I’m sorry ma’am. I’m leaving. Please don’t shoot,” the burglar told Cooper.
Cooper stated in a press conference Tuesday that she was surprised by how she reacted to the attempted break-in.
”I am a Christian woman and I’m very proud of it and I don’t curse, but after I shot, rage took hold and I just blasted away. And, in fact, afterwards my husband said, ‘I’ve never heard you talk like that!’” she said.
Brandon Alexander Perez, the would-be intruder, was arrested shortly after the attempted break-in. He had previously been arrested of burglary and drug charges.
According to the WCF Courier, Perez will appear in court later this month and will plead not guilty to the burglary charge.
Bob Cooper, Jan’s husband, said in the press conference that he was not surprised by his wife’s ability to react to the situation and expressed “utmost confidence in his wife.”
“I’m not surprised at all, not one bit,” he said.
