An off-duty Atlanta police officer, Aubree Horton, 32, was fatally shot by a homeowner early Friday morning during an attempted break-in in Douglas County, Georgia. Horton, who had served with the Atlanta Police Department since 2015 and was recently honored as “Investigator of the Year,” was reportedly experiencing a mental health crisis or under the influence of narcotics during the incident.
The homeowner, whose identity has not been released, was alerted to the situation by his wife, who witnessed the unfolding events via their home’s Ring doorbell camera after leaving for work. The camera footage showed Horton running toward the home, barefoot and shirtless, shouting “Jesus” and “Help me” before attempting to break down the front door.
The homeowner, concerned for his safety and that of his wife, armed himself and approached the door.
After a brief attempt to communicate with the distressed man, Horton forced his way inside, knocking the homeowner to the ground. Acting in self-defense, the homeowner fired a single shot, fatally wounding Horton.
The two men were strangers, and there was no indication of prior conflict between them. Authorities confirmed that Horton lived nearby, and the homeowner had enhanced security at the house following a previous burglary in 2021.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident, but early reports suggest that the homeowner will not face charges, as the shooting appears to have been a justified act of self-defense. The investigation is ongoing, with toxicology results expected in the coming months.
This tragic event highlights the importance of home defense, particularly in unpredictable situations. While the loss of life is unfortunate, the homeowner’s actions were a direct response to a perceived threat, a right that every American has under the Second Amendment.
So a toxicology report takes months-they expect us to believe this???
Another one bits the dust.
Must be my imagination that once normal people are having unexplained behavior episodes that result in the death of themselves and others attributed to mental reasons in record numbers.
“The investigation is ongoing, with toxicology results expected in the coming months.” What?!? Sad to hear. As previously mentioned, there was likely early warning signs. While I don’t like power hungry A**hole primadonnas, Cops are people too. They often have domestic issues because of the job.
I’m glad they are not trying to skewer the homeowner. It is sad that the Investigator was having to battle whatever demons were plaguing him, but that was not the fault of the homeowner.
we need more of these cases reported to reinforce the need for 2ND AMENDMENT use of weapons!
MORE RANGE TIME!
One open ended word keeps showing up in this discussion. DRUGS Modern life is stressful. Some professions an/or family situations are more stressful than others. Some people handle the stress in their lives more successfully than others. Many of us use some drug or another to “take the edge off” in an attempt to deal with the things that need to be dealt with, with varying degrees of success. But make no mistake about it. If you have a beer at the end of the day to unwind a bit, you’re doing drugs. “So when they continued asking him, he… Read more »
The cop was corrupt, went looking for trouble, found it. Taxpayers should give homeowner a medal, he saved them millions of dollars in future lawsuits.
Atlanta? Fanni Willis gonna come charging in on her white horse to save us from these toxic armed citizens?
Good look for Atlanta PD… Can’t even control their own officers…
From the article: This tragic event highlights the importance of home defense, particularly in unpredictable situations. While the loss of life is unfortunate, the homeowner’s actions were a direct response to a perceived threat, a right that every American has under the Second Amendment. It doesn’t mention the real gorilla in the room which is, “dont do drugs or just say no”. You would think that someone that had been on the police force for 9 years would have seen and heard enough of the devastation that drugs had done to the citizens that they had helped. Too bad he… Read more »