(WSVN) - A 70-year-old woman shot someone trespassing into her Orlando home after firing warning shots.
“I fired a warning shot, told him to back off, and he just kept coming,” said Virginia Morrison, who owns the home. “He had a blank look in his face, so I just lowered the gun and shot him.”
Officials said the intruder was identified as Ezekiel Rosario Torres, who died in the encounter.
Morrison told Torres to get out of her house before hitting him with a broom. When he refused to leave, that was when she grabbed her gun.
Experts said this shooting may be justified under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.
“If someone comes into your house, and you don’t know who they are, Florida automatically says, ‘Yeah, we are presuming that you’re in fear,'” said Attorney Mike Panella. “They get us, they get us as humans. That is a scary proposition.”
Panella said an exception to this law is if a homeowner shoots someone who is running away.
“These cases turn on little tiny facts. Hey, a reasonable person would have known under the circumstances that this person wasn’t there to do them harm,” said Panella.
Deputies turned the case over to the State Attorney’s Office to determine her plea.
No matter the outcome, Morrison still thinks of the incident.
“I have feelings. I have God in my life,” said Morrison. “That’s my main thing, wondering if God is going to forgive me for taking a life. It bothers me.”
It’s still unclear why Torres entered the home.
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