ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Safety experts are sending out a warning: If you see someone breaking into your car, think twice before you reach for your gun. You could end up in jail.
It’s happened twice in as many weeks in north St. Louis County.
In the most recent case, a 23-year-old man saw a couple of teens breaking into his car. He got his gun and opened fire. A bullet struck a 13-year-old in the back.
It was around 2 a.m. Saturday at the Crossing at North Pointe Apartments.
"The people that's only really hurting from it are the people that they're taking the cars from, who they're robbing,” said a neighbor, who asked not to be identified.
Demetrius Haymon saw some kids breaking into his car. So he got his gun and shot at them, police said.
Some of his neighbors think it was a bold move.
"Nowadays these kids got guns bigger than you. They got one person breaking into the car, another one watching out,” another neighbor added.
Two weeks ago, a teenager died while he was with several others looking into cars. When Michael Tolden saw them, police said he fired his gun on Oran Drive.
He's now charged with murder.
"If there's harm coming to you, it must be a proportionate harm that you can use to help yourself and to protect yourself. So if somebody is stealing your car in your driveaway, shooting them is not self-defense,” said Personal Safety Expert Mike Barbieri.
He said if the other person points a gun at you, then you could have a case.
"I'm not saying that is OK to hurt babies, hurt teenagers, no," the neighbor said. "But babies need to learn that you can’t keep doing these things because there are consequences.”
Barbieri has a message to would-be offenders: "Don't commit the crime because you never know what's going to happen to you. You may come across some guy whose crazy enough to come out of the house with a shotgun and kill everybody."
He said it's best to call police with specific details, including what the offenders are wearing, the type of getaway car and what direction they went in.
Haymon is charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action, both felonies.