CBS 5 - KPHO Police: Phoenix mom kills backyard intruder

A 29-year-old man has died after a Phoenix mom shot him in her backyard in what police believe was a case of self-defense.

The woman's 13-year-old daughter called 911 at around 3 p.m. Monday and alerted dispatchers to send officers to their home on 45th Street near Roeser, said Phoenix Police Officer James Holmes.

"The first officer that gets there approaches the home, sees the mother and daughter in the front yard and secures their weapon," Holmes said.

Police found the wounded man in the backyard and recovered a gun he reportedly had been carrying. He was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition and was later pronounced dead.  His name has not yet been released.

The woman told police that about three hours earlier, around noon, she saw two men enter her backyard.

According to police, the woman said she became frightened and called her husband. "Her husband said, 'Hey, get your gun,'" Holmes said. "So she goes, retrieves her weapon, she goes out and these folks are gone."

Then, hours later, the woman saw two men again. "One of them, who now is the victim, actually had a gun in his hand," Holmes said. "He saw her, he raised his gun toward her and at that point, she shot him."

The other man ran to a white car and fled. Police have been conducting an extensive search of the neighborhood. Holmes said he is not believed to be armed.   

Holmes said investigators are trying to determine why the men were there, possibly twice.  

The 35-year-old woman and her daughter were not harmed.

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