Homeowner Shoots, Kills 3 Teens After Foiled Robbery

A homeowner residing in Georgia shot and killed three masked teenagers after they attempted to rob him at his home Monday.

According to a report filed by the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office, three juveniles – two 16-year-olds and one 15-year-old – were killed after one of their victims shot them in retaliation.

CNN said that the masked teens “approached three residents” around 4:00 a.m. Monday at a front yard of one of the houses outside Conyers.

It added that one of the suspects brandished a gun and fired several shots at the victims. However, one of the held-up residents returned fire.

The names of the would-be robbers, as well as the homeowner who killed them, were undisclosed by the sheriff's office, although ABC News said that the former were all from Conyers, Georgia, while the latter was escorted to the station “for questioning.”

The shooter was described by his neighbors as a “truck driver who owns a semi-automatic and is highly protective of his mother.”

While the victims of the unsuccessful robbery were unharmed, one of the teens died on the scene while the two “succumbed to their injuries” at a local hospital after they were transported, a press release from the sheriff's office said.

WSB meanwhile pointed that officials found one of the teens “lying near the edge of the driveway,” while the other two were up the road “a bit” when they responded to the 911 call from the homeowner.

“I hear a guy yelling for help. 'Help me, help me, help me, I'm dying, I'm dying, help me, help me,” recalled neighbor Brian Jenkins.

Carlos Watson, who also heard the gunshots, went outside his house to help.

He said that he heard five shots that came from a handgun and was followed by what he described to be an “assault rifle.”

“It was a slew of shots that came out,” said Watson.

With investigation underway, Rockdale County Sheriff Eric Levett said that what happened could be a “stand-your-ground type of case.”

Levett's statement was referring to a component of Georgia's self-defense laws wherein people are allowed to retaliate “to threats or force without fear of criminal prosecution.”

In other words, residents of Georgia and of the 26 other states that had provided a form of legal defense in cases of self-defense, can use deadly force if they reasonably believe it is necessary to "prevent death or great bodily injury to himself or herself or a third person or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony."

The National Conference of State Legislatures pointed that out of the 26 states, Georgia belongs to the 10 that enables a person to “stand his or her ground and use force.”

No arrests or charges have been filed to anyone, the sources added.