Santa Ana man recounts fight for would-be burglar’s gun
A Santa Ana homeowner wrestled a gun away from a pair of would-be burglars early Friday, shot one of them and held him at gunpoint until police arrived while the other one got away, authorities said.
The homeowner called police just after 4 a.m. and said two men were in the backyard and were attempting to break into his home in the 2500 block of West Manly Avenue, said Cpl. Anthony Bertagna of the Santa Ana Police Department.
But instead of waiting for officers to arrive, the homeowner went out to investigate and was confronted by the two men, police said.
The homeowner, Erickson Dumaual, told KTLA-TV Channel 5 that the burglars escorted him inside and told him to show them where his valuables were. Dumaual went for the burglar’s gun when he looked away for a moment at his partner, who was rummaging through Dumaual’s bedroom drawers, he told KTLA.
“It’s a battle, 50-50, who’s going to die here?” Dumaual said.
Dumaual said he’s trained for years in Krav Maga, a self-defense fighting technique used by the Israeli military, and managed to wrestle away the gun. One man ran away, but Dumaual said he was able to corner the second one by the backyard pool.
“He comes at me, I had to pull the trigger,” Dumaual said.
Police said the man was wounded in the leg. Dumaual said he punched and elbowed the man into submission until police arrived.
The wounded man is expected to survive and will be arrested once he’s released from the hospital, Bertagna said.
Though Dumaual came out on top this time, police warn that residents won’t always be so lucky.
“I don’t know if I’d recommend confronting two individuals trying to break into your house,” Bertagna said. “He’s extremely fortunate that he was able to get the gun away. ... It could’ve very easily been him who got shot.”
For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.
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