'He was acting like he was possessed': Homeowner explains why he shot mud-covered intruder after the man left his house

A Jacksonville, Florida, homeowner told WJAX-TV he was worried about his safety and his neighbors' safety when he shot a mud-covered intruder who broke into his residence and then departed from it Wednesday morning.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

“He just looked like he was possessed, and he was acting like he was possessed,” William Kerr told the station.

What are the details?

Kerr told WJAX that his wife was leaving for an appointment when he encountered the intruder inside his home office.

“I got the door open about a foot, and I see this guy standing there," Kerr recounted to the station. "He’s got my ... BB rifle – he’s standing there with the rifle like this, the butt facing me, and he’s fixing to clock me … I quick slammed the door, and I heard him messing with the other door in the room. So I’m thinking, ‘Oh, man, Tina’s out there in the car fixing to go.’ So, I ran through the kitchen, grabbed me a cleaver, and went out the door. By the time I went out the door, he’s already at the mailbox.”

Kerr — now armed with a gun — followed the intruder down the street because he was worried about his neighbors, WJAX reported.

“I got a next-door neighbor with a little kid," he explained to the station. "The lady across the street is kind of elderly."

Image source: YouTube screenshot

Police were in the area at that point, WJAX said, and Kerr said he even pointed them in the direction of the intruder. He added to the station that he decided to continue down the road to make sure the intruder couldn't hurt anyone.

Kerr saw the intruder again while heading farther down the street, adding to the station that the man had broken off a piece of a privacy fence — and Kerr called out to the intruder: "Come on out … the police officers are driving up the street; they’ll be here in just a second."

The man was holding "this big stick – it’s probably three or four inches around and about three feet long, and he wields the stick," Kerr recalled to WJAX. "Well, I jump back … I had my gun, I tried to shoot him in his hands to get the stick out of his hands. About that time a police officer drives down the street, and I wave him down. I’m like, ‘He’s right here!’" Kerr added to the station that the intruder still tried to run.

A different homeowner encounters intruder

Another neighbor saw the intruder before he entered Kerr’s home, WJAX said — and that neighbor shared video with the station of the man walking up his dock, naked and muddy.

The neighbor told WJAX he gave the man a pair of shorts, water, and food before calling 911 — but the man took off and headed toward Kerr’s residence.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

“He was jacked up on something," Kerr added to the station. "He was dirty as heck. The time he tried to ram me in there he was going, ‘Wooo! Wooo!’ And even when he was swinging the stick, he was like, ‘Wooo!’ And his eyes were like golf balls.”

What happened after Kerr shot the intruder?

Police questioned Kerr and released him Wednesday evening, WJAX said, adding that Kerr wasn't arrested and claimed self-defense.

Kerr added to WJAX that the intruder also stole $400 — and that he wishes the intruder would have just asked for help, adding that he would gladly have given him the money.

“I hope the best for him. I don’t hope anything bad,” Kerr told the station. “It was a traumatic situation on both our part.”

Investigators on Wednesday said the man Kerr shot was in surgery, WJAX said.

Legal expert weighs in

Dale Carson, a law and safety expert, spoke to the station about whether or not Kerr could face charges.

“If you are in imminent fear of death or great bodily harm, you can probably defend yourself and claim self-defense,” Carson told WJAX.

But Carson added to the station that a self-defense argument can be difficult to prove.

“My advice would be, don’t follow people out of your house. Call law enforcement and allow them to manage it," he told WJAX. "Because if you get involved there’s a possibility that you could ultimately be charged with manslaughter or even murder."

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