Homeowner fires gun at fleeing would-be burglar, police say

A 79-year-old man shot at a would-be burglar who broke into his Glendale home Wednesday night, officials said.

Around 9:30 p.m., the residents were lying in bed when they heard the sound of glass breaking toward the back of their single-family home, located on the 1600 block of Moreno Drive, said Glendale Police spokeswoman Tahnee Lightfoot.

One of the residents reached into his nightstand for his loaded handgun, after which he noticed the suspect in front of his bedroom door, Lightfoot said.

The suspect subsequently ran through the house, fleeing through the broken glass sliding door and into a white getaway car parked just south of the home.

The victim fired one shot toward the small sedan, which looked clean and new. The resident told police that he doesn’t think he struck the suspect.

The suspect was described as in his 20s, roughly 5 feet, 10 inches tall and wearing a brown jacket. A description of the driver was not available.

Anyone with information on the burglary is asked to call Glendale police at (818) 548-4911.

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Alene Tchekmedyian, alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @atchek