Wheelchair-bound veteran fatally shoots intruder in Monticello

A Vietnam veteran in a wheelchair fatally shot an intruder who lunged at him inside his Monticello home Thursday night, authorities said.

About 9 p.m. Thursday, 69-year-old Eddie Frank Smith heard his back door breaking and found 22-year-old Andre Smith, no relation, at the back of the house at 294 Benton St., according to a news release from the GBI.

When the intruder lunged toward the handicapped man, the resident fired one shot, striking the intruder in the chest, the release stated.

The wounded man ran out of the house, “collapsed near the roadway and was transported to the hospital where he died,” said Ryan Carmichael, the GBI assistant special agent in charge of Region 6.

Neighbors who saw the bleeding man in the road called 911, as did the older Smith, the release said.

Andre Smith was taken to Jasper Memorial Hospital where he died.

An autopsy Friday at the GBI Crime Lab in Decatur confirmed Smith died from a single gunshot wound.

Thirty minutes after the shooting, Jasper County Sheriff Donnie Pope called in the GBI.

Once the investigation is complete, the case file will be turned over to the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review.

This story was originally published May 20, 2016 at 10:17 AM with the headline "Wheelchair-bound veteran fatally shoots intruder in Monticello."