Intruder puts hands through broken bedroom window. Homeowner fires his 12-gauge—with lethal results.

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When a Virginia homeowner saw an intruder's hands reaching through his bedroom window Saturday night, he aimed his 12-gauge shotgun through the opening and fired. The result was lethal. (Image source: YouTube screenshot) 

Dave Urbanski

A Virginia homeowner told police he was in bed when he heard one or two people trying to break into his Clear Brook home Saturday night, the Winchester Star reported.

But after his bedroom window was broken and the homeowner saw an intruder’s hands reach through, he fired his 12-gauge shotgun once through the window opening, police told the paper.

The homeowner called 911, and deputies from the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office arrived at the scene just before 10 p.m., the Star reported.

Deputies found a woman’s body outside the home by the bedroom window, the paper said. She was identified as 39-year-old Shayna E. Lacy of Bunker Hill, West Virginia, following an autopsy, the Star added.

The sheriff’s office is trying to determine if more than one person was involved in the incident, the paper reported.

Capt. Aleck Beeman told the Star that residents in the area “don’t need to be concerned” but declined to elaborate — other than noting this wasn’t a case of a homeowner mistakenly shooting a resident of the home who was trying to gain entry.