Two injured in unrelated shootings by home residents

A 16-year-old boy and a 63-year-old man were shot within minutes of each other Friday night – the boy while apparently attempting a burglary and the man as a result of confusion, Wichita police said Saturday.

The 16-year-old was believed to be part of a group trying to break into a home in the 8600 block of East Hurst about 11:15 p.m., said police Sgt. Brian Sigman. The boy was hospitalized in serious condition.

Fifteen minutes later and unrelated to the first shooting, an occupant of a home in the 9400 block of Longlake, southwest of Harry and Webb, shot the 63-year-old man through the door.

The man who was shot was a neighbor of the man who shot him. The shooting victim was drunk and apparently thought that he was trying to enter his own home, Sigman said.

He was treated for a graze wound to his head.

Sigman said Kansas law allows people to shoot if they are fearful for their lives or the lives of others, but the incidents will be investigated and possibly turned over to the district attorney.

“You’re still going to be interviewed by detectives and that’s where they’re going to try to put everything together and make sure it’s a case of self-defense,” he said. “Now granted, somebody being on the outside of the door, it depends on how the D.A. wants to look at that.”

The 16-year-old was one of four males who apparently were attempting to break into the residence on Hurst, northeast of Greenwich and 31st Street South, Sigman said. Inside were a 28-year-old man and a 32-year-old female, he said.

The man was the one who fired on the suspected intruders, he said. The other three suspected burglars fled the scene, he said.

The 63-year-old man was shot by a 61-year-old resident of the home he tried to enter. A 67-year-old woman was also present, Sigman said.

This story was originally published September 26, 2015 at 2:37 PM with the headline "Two injured in unrelated shootings by home residents."