Armed home invasion in Florida backfires on suspects as gun-toting victim shoots 1, fights the other

An armed home invasion in Florida backfired last week as a man renting a Airbnb shot one suspected intruder and fought the other.

Fort Lauderdale Police officers responded to the scene near Northwest 19th Avenue and Eighth Street around 6 p.m. Thursday, WSVN-TV reported.

‘I just heard the shots, maybe at least 10, and then everybody went running.’

Two males were carrying guns when they broke into the home while the renter was inside, investigators told the station, adding that the renter tried to fight off the perpetrators and shot one of them in the torso in what cops are calling an act of self-defense.

Police said the armed intruders fled the home on foot and left a bloody trail behind, the station reported, adding that a chair splattered with blood was visible at the scene.

A 911 dispatcher said the shot intruder “had an AR, and the complainant shot him. Apparently there were five or six people in a truck that fled the area that were with the gentleman who got shot,” WSVN reported.

Detectives told the station they later found the wounded intruder — identified as 18-year-old Dareon Publien — a short distance away; he was suffering from gunshot wounds to the upper torso.

Police later apprehended his accomplice — identified as 25-year-old Sean Ian Thompson — as well, WSVN reported.

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“I just heard the shots, maybe at least 10, and then everybody went running,” area resident Arthur Butler Junior told WSVN.

Publien was taken to a hospital, where he underwent surgery and was listed in critical but stable condition Friday morning, the station said.

WSVN said that after Publien is released from the hospital, he will be taken to the Broward County Jail and face the same charges as Thompson: attempted felony murder and home invasion with a firearm.

Jail records indicate only Thompson is behind bars as of Tuesday morning.

Police told the station they aren’t looking for more suspects and are trying to determine if the armed home invasion was random or targeted.

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