That’s because he had the courage to fight back hard enough to where he was able to take a firearm away from the suspect. He was also fortunate to be prepared with his own weapon in his home that he was able to retrieve during the confrontation.
On the east side of Indianapolis, police believe an attempted home invasion was thwarted when the homeowner put up a vicious fight against his attacker.
Brent Smith made what should have been a normal trip to the supermarket. But as he pulled into his driveway, he noticed a young man walking toward his house.
Smith saw the stranger pull a ski mask down over his face, and that’s when the trouble started. He recalled to WRTV that the situation escalated so fast that he had no time to think until after he had been hit as he entered his home.
The intended victim said the 22-year-old suspect struck him on the head with his pistol. “I yelled out ‘he is robbing me,’ thinking my neighbors would hear me.” Smith then fought with the attacker, later identified as Damon Swanigan Jr. by the Marion County Coroner’s Office.
While they struggled inside the residence, the suspect’s gun discharged. This prompted the gunman to run out of the home, and he apparently began firing wildly.
Smith said that “at this time I started hearing what felt like thousands of shots.” He was able to retrieve his own firearm and then fired rounds from the intruder’s gun which had been dislodged as well as his own gun. It is unclear whether the suspect had more than one weapon.
According to reports, Swanigan died outside the front door.
Smith was obviously shaken by the incident and told reporters that he wants to see changes in people’s mindsets. He said he wished that his attacker had instead found “something productive” to engage in.
“You don’t need to rob me. I keep to myself. The first thing I noticed was the kid had on brand new Jordans. You’re trying to rob me, but you got brand new Jordans on man? I just don’t get it.”
Investigators detained Smith at the scene, and he was taken in for questioning over the deadly incident. As could be expected, he was then released by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.
Part of the reason for his release is that Indiana provides a lot of freedom for homeowners to defend themselves and their loved ones and property. The state recognizes that without this basic liberty, all others may quickly become meaningless.
WRTV spoke with attorney Guy Relford, who is an expert in Second Amendment law. He said that particularly inside a person’s home, that individual enjoys special protection.
Relford told the outlet, “The law says specifically that I am ‘justified in using reasonable force including deadly force,’ if I reasonably believe that, that force, meaning deadly force, is necessary to prevent or terminate an unlawful attack on or entry into my dwelling.”
Unlike some states, Indiana does not require that a homeowner retreats in the face of a threat. A person is under no obligation to run before defending themselves, which is a wholly unjustifiable mandate in a free society.
State law also does not require proof that a person was afraid for their own life or those of anyone in the residence. The only evidence necessary is that someone was attempting to illegally gain entry or commit a criminal act.
