Homeowner kills a man who broke into his house near Willard, Mo.

NEAR WILLARD, Mo. (KY3) -The Greene County Sheriff’s Office says a homeowner killed a man who broke into his home in the Meadows Subdivision Thursday morning.

Deputies were called to a home in the 6000 block of W. Hawthorn Ct. for a burglary in progress around 4 a.m.

Deputies found the suspect inside the house. They say that man attacked the homeowner before he was killed. Deputies aren’t saying how the homeowner killed the man.

Investigators did not identify the two other people who were in the house when the break-in happened. Those two people weren’t hurt. The homeowner is being treated for non-life threatening injuries.

“He probably saved them,” says neighbor Jay Davis. “He’s already a hero because he’s a Vietnam veteran. Now he’s even a bigger hero, because he saved his family.”

The sheriff’s office is working to determine why the suspect chose to break into the house.

”We have no idea as to why this suspect chose the home or why he made unauthorized entry into the home. Hopefully we get to the bottom of it as our investigators continue to figure out what happened here this morning,” said Deputy Jason Winston with the Greene County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators are trying to determine if a pickup found in a ditch behind the house is connected to the incident.

The Meadows Subdivision is located east of Willard Central Elementary School.

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