Newport Beach homeowner shoots night-time intruder before accomplice kills himself in bushes outside
Police called the home invasion a ‘targeted incident’ as the suspects and victims had a prior connection
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A Newport Beach home intrusion took a sinister turn in the early hours of the morning after a suspect appeared to kill himself in the bushes outside after his accomplice was injured by gunshots from the homeowner.
Two male suspects, who have not been named, entered the Californian home in what appeared to be a “targeted incident”, the Newport Police Department said in a statement, as the suspects and the victims had a prior connection.
“We know that there is a relationship between the two suspects and the victims, the residents,” Sergeant Steve Oberon told reporters at a news conference. “It was a home invasion. Whether it was a robbery or what their other intentions are, I don’t know at this time.”
Police received a call at around 4.45am early Tuesday morning reporting a possible home invasion near Newport Coast Drive and Pelican Hill Road North, situated in a gated community.
The caller said that one of the residents shot a suspect while they were inside the home before the injured suspect and his accompanying intruder fled the house, police said.
When police arrived at the scene, however, the events had taken a dramatic turn as it appeared that one of the suspects had shot himself in the head while sitting among the bushes outside the victim’s home.
First, police say they found lying in the middle of the street a man armed with a handgun and suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.
The man, identified as a suspect, was taken to a local hospital, where he is being treated for his injuries.
The second suspect, the man’s accomplice who fled with the injured suspect, was then found in the bushes near the victim’s home, but for unknown reasons, it seemed as though he killed himself while hiding there.
Police said the suspect was found with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head and was pronounced dead at the scene.
All four people, reportedly a man, two women, and a child, in the house that was invaded were safely evacuated and uninjured.
Will O’Neill, mayor of Newport Beach, also sent a message after the home invasion incident to anyone thinking about pulling similar crimes in the area.
“I have a message for those who would come to our City to commit crime. We will defend ourselves,” he wrote on X.
Police say that the incident is still undergoing investigation.