WALTON COUNTY, Ga. -- An Atlanta mom is being hailed as a hero after taking matters into her own hands Friday, when an intruder came barging into her home.
At the advice of her husband, the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the unidentified woman hid with her 9-year-old twins in a crawlspace as a man began rummaging through their home.
The woman told police the burglar began making his way to where she and her two children were hiding. When the intruder opened a closet door, he found himself staring down the barrel of a .38 revolver held by the mother of two.
She fired six shots -- five of which hit Paul Ali Slater in the face and neck area, police said.
Slater was still conscious.
At that time, police said the burglar was face-down and crying. The mother told him to stay on the floor or she would shoot again.
The woman and her children ran to a neighbor's house, according to the newspaper. The injured burglar made it out of the home and started to drive away, but he didn't get far. Deputies found Slater bleeding in a neighbor's driveway.
He was hospitalized and is expected to survive, officials said.
According to the newspaper, Slater was just released from jail in late August after serving six months for simple battery and three counts of probation violation. He has six other arrests dating back to 2008, the newspaper reported.
Walton County Sheriff Joe Chapman said of the woman's actions, "That mother’s instinct kicked in. You go after a mother’s kids and she’ll find herself capable of doing things she never thought she was capable of."
