85-Year-Old Riverton Homeowner Fought Off, Shot Possibly “Irrational” Intruder

RIVERTON — An 85-year-old homeowner says he shot a home invader Friday night in Riverton after first fighting the intruder back onto his front porch.

Wayne Williams, who lives on the 900 block of East Park Avenue in Riverton, heard a man pounding and kicking on his home at about 11 p.m. Friday, Williams told Cowboy State Daily in a Monday interview at his house.

Williams said he grabbed a .380-caliber pistol he keeps for home defense, unzipped its holster and threw the holster on his bed while packing the pistol to his front door.

He’s not sure what he was thinking at the time, but he opened the door to confront the intruder, Williams said. He now feels that was a big mistake.

“The guy was obviously irrational,” said Williams. “He was saying ‘they’ sent him to my house; ‘they’ said he owns my house and I don’t – crazy, crazy stuff.”

The intruder appeared drunk or under the influence of drugs. He was 6 inches taller than Williams, who stands roughly 5 feet, 3 inches tall, was slim of build and he appeared about 25 years old, Williams recalled.

The intruder shoved into Williams’ home. Williams tried firing off a shot with his pistol, but the gun only clicked. He’d forgotten to rack a round into the chamber, he said.

“Go ahead and shoot me,” said the intruder, according to Williams’ interview.

“I don’t know if he was trying to commit suicide at my hand or what he was doing,” Williams added in reflection.

Williams then wrestled and pushed the man back outside, he said.

Fortunately for Williams, the intruder was “kind of uncoordinated” at that time. The pair wrestled and grappled on the front porch.

It was a quick scramble in the dark, but Williams believes the intruder tripped on the top stair of his porch steps, causing him to tumble down the stairs. He took Williams down with him, the latter recalled.

“So we both fell down the stairs. I was on top of him at that point,” said Williams, adding that he and the intruder were both struggling to get to their feet.

Then Williams fired a single shot into the dark.

Williams heard the intruder say, “I’ve been hit.”

He believes the shot hit the man’s leg.

Cooperating

Williams ducked back into his house and called 911. Riverton Police Department officers arrived soon afterward.

It seemed to Williams they were more concerned initially with him and with his gun than “the guy who was attacking me,” he said. But he put the gun down and cooperated.

An ambulance arrived after what felt like five to 10 minutes then loaded the intruder onto a stretcher, he said, adding that everything felt slow to him because he was agitated.

RPD agents asked Williams if he’d come with him to the department for an interview, assuringhim he wasn’t under arrest, he recalled.

Williams said agents searched his home while he was gone. The holster he’d flung onto his bed was gone when he returned, he said.

Citing the active investigation, RPD did not respond to that claim. The agency declined Monday to comment beyond a preliminary statement it issued Saturday – which says the incident appeared to be a shooting in response to an attempted burglary.

Dizzy

During his interview at midday Monday, Willliams said he was thinking of going to a clinic for a health checkup. He’d been feeling dizzy and having vision problems Sunday, though he wasn’t sure if it could be related to the Friday incident, he said.

Though he spoke frankly and openly while his faithful dog eyed the sidewalk for passersby, Williams said he’s still feeling nervous.

“I’m still concerned. I don’t know if I’ll ever see that guy again,” he said. “I don’t know if he’ll come back.”

The intruder had been taken to the hospital Friday night and was in stable condition, according to RPD’s Saturday statement.

Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.