Alleged home intruder attacks Vietnam veteran — and ends up getting shot in his buttocks

A Vietnam veteran said he’s grateful but shaken up after an altercation he had with an alleged home intruder at his San Francisco residence over the weekend.

The man spoke to KPIX-TV about the incident the following day but asked to remain anonymous. He said he was jolted awake by noises below his third floor bedroom at about 5 a.m. Saturday.

‘I shot him because physically I felt really threatened. He had already made a deep intrusion into my home.’

He said he grabbed his handgun and went downstairs to investigate. That’s when he found himself face to face with an intruder wearing all black with a face mask — and a dog was with him as well.

“He had a large dog, maybe a 60-pound husky, with him. And I encountered [the burglar] face to face. He kind of grabbed me, and I fell to my hands and knees,” he said.

When the man attacked him, he said he fired his gun once at the alleged intruder.

“I shot him because physically I felt really threatened. He had already made a deep intrusion into my home,” the homeowner added.

The victim said he suffered minor scrapes to his hands and knees from the altercation.

“I believe I hit him somewhere here, somewhere in the buttocks,” he added.

The suspect ran off toward Golden Gate Park and left blood-stained shoe prints as he fled the scene.

Soon after, police said they detained a man suffering from non-life-threatening injuries three miles away near Geary Boulevard and 47th Avenue.

Paramedics rushed the man to San Francisco General Hospital, and police told the station if they confirm he’s the suspect who attacked the 73-year-old military veteran, they will take him into custody.

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A neighbor who knows the veteran well said it’s completely within his character to defend himself.

“Our neighbor is really something special. I’m glad that he was able to do this. But it doesn’t surprise me,” the neighbor told the station. “He’s definitely got a heroic side to him. He’s a real, true vet.”

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