'I had to shoot him': 911 call reveals woman shot attempted burglar near Hope Mills
A woman living in a home in an area off Black and Decker Road near Hope Mills killed a man allegedly attempting to break in Dec. 20, according to the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office dispatch log.
The incident report shows that Shantay Latrelle McQueen, 45, killed Deshawn Terrance Howard, 30, during his alleged attempted burglary in the 500 block of Directive Drive.
The 911 call from McQueen came at 7:41 a.m., the dispatch log shows. While on the phone, the operator asked a hysterical McQueen to "take a breath" and to "try and calm down" to better understand her.
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"Somebody just broke into my house, and I had to shoot him," McQueen said through sobs on the phone with the operator.
According to what McQueen said on the call, Howard attempted to break in through the back porch window and was shot with a Smith and Wesson 9mm. McQueen stated during the call to the operator that she shot Howard while he was still in the window, and he fell outside.
During the 911 call, the operator asked McQueen if Howard was alive, to which she responded, "Yeah, he's alive. He's crying right now. He needs to get the ambulance."
According to McQueen, Howard was still breathing but was responding abnormally and had serious bleeding during the time of the call.
When the operator asked McQueen if she could reach the victim, she told the operator she was afraid to interact with him.
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"I can't get to him," McQueen said. "I'm scared he's going to hurt me."
Deputies responded to the scene minutes later, according to the dispatch log, and reported the man was conscious, breathing and had serious bleeding. Howard was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Anyone with information on this investigation is asked to call Homicide Detective Senior Sgt. F. Adams at 910-677-5503. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling Fayetteville/Cumberland County CrimeStoppers at 910-483-TIPS (8477); visiting fay-nccrimestoppers.org online; or by downloading the FREE “P3 Tips” app available for mobile devices.
Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Deshawn Howard was killed during attempted break in near Hope Mills
