Landlord, 79, Allegedly Shot and Killed a Naked Intruder Who Police Say Body-Slammed the Landlord and Broke His Legs By Toria Sheffield

A landlord in Los Angeles allegedly shot and killed a naked intruder in an apartment complex after the intruder broke both of his legs.

The incident occurred the morning of Friday, Nov. 7, around 7 a.m. local time, per ABC 7, NBC 4 and Cleveland 19.

The intruder wandered into an apartment complex on the 4500 block of Tujunga Avenue, Capt. Warner Castillo of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) told NBC 4. Two women in the complex began screaming, at which point their 79-year-old landlord — who is a military veteran — heard the commotion and ran to help.

Castillo said the intruder “body-slammed” the landlord, breaking his legs.

“The witnesses said the suspect basically lifted up the 79-year-old and body-slammed him to the ground on the driveway, which is concrete,” he explained.

The landlord then allegedly opened fire on the intruder, striking him in the head and chest, Castillo said. The intruder died on the scene.

The landlord was hospitalized and is in serious condition, Castillo told NBC 4, adding that there does not seem to be any pre-existing connection between the intruder and the building tenants.

PEOPLE reached out to the LAPD for comment on Sunday, Nov. 9, but did not receive an immediate response. 

Security camera footage from a nearby apartment complex showed the naked man walking across the street prior to the incident, seemingly talking to himself and grabbing a sign, per NBC 4.

“[The intruder] just was walking up and down the sidewalk. Then he saw the gate was open and ran over there in their gate,” a witness told Cleveland 19. 

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

A neighbor described the injured landlord as a “very nice man” while speaking to the outlet, adding, “He is very sweet, very kind, gentle. To hear he shot somebody would be out of self-defense.”

Robert Mendoza, a resident of the complex, told Cleveland 19 that there have been other safety issues in the past in the neighborhood, often involving unhoused individuals.