Burglar shot dead after breaking into second story bedroom of Vancouver, Washington home

Police in Vancouver, Washington are in the midst of an investigation into the fatal shooting of a home intruder Thursday night.

A man broke into a second floor bedroom of a house in a suburban cul-de-sac outside Portland, Oregon just before 11.30pm.

The intruder was killed by the homeowner who confronted the burglar.

The intruder was already deceased when Vancouver Police Department officers arrived on the scene. 

The house (center left) that was broken into last Thursday night by a would be burglar who was shot onsite by the homeowner

Police say the intruder used the height of a vehicle to reach the entrance of a second floor bedroom, where he was then confronted by the armed homeowner

Spokesperson for the department, Kim Kapp, said, ‘It appears that they used a vehicle to boost themselves up onto the second story and then broke in through the window of what appears to be a bedroom of the home.’

The homeowner and his spouse were at the residence when the break-in occurred, but Kapp said she did not believe any children were in the home at the time.

The homeowner went to the bedroom to confront the intruder and shot him during the encounter.

Images of a now boarded up window show the broken glass where the intruder forced his way into the house. 

The matter is being invested by the Vancouver Police Department’s major crimes unit.

Kapp said she was unsure whether the intruder had been armed and that detectives will be gathering more information in the coming days.

There is currently no indication that the homeowner and intruder knew each other, and local news outlets reported that that the intrusion appeared to be ‘random.’

The Vancouver Police Department’s major crimes unit took over the investigation into the break-in and fatal shooting, though police were unable to confirm whether the homeowner may potentially face charges in the near future

Kapp also could not confirm whether or not the homeowner is likely to face any charges for the shooting.

‘I don’t know. I mean…definitely something this is not uncommon when people are entering other people’s homes. But I don’t have the details on anything further on the investigation, we’re in the very early stages of that,’ she said.

There were no reported injuries aside from the intruder. And though they have not yet been released, the Clark County Medical Examiner’s office is expected to provide identification of the suspect and the results of an autopsy in the coming days.