An 80-year-old Tuolumne, California, man told sheriff's deputies he heard noise and voices coming from his rental house next door — which was supposed to be unoccupied — so he and his wife ventured over to investigate late Tuesday night, the Modesto Bee reported.
The couple didn't check things out empty-handed, either.
Indeed, the man told deputies he and his wife were confronted by an intruder inside their rental property, the paper said, and fearing for their safety the man shot the intruder.
The Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office said 29-year-old Bryce Lawrence — a transient — was shot once in the upper torso, the Bee reported. Lawrence is recovering at a hospital, KTXL-TV reported.
Lawrence was in the home with 24-year-old Bryanna Ireland of Sonora, the Bee reported, adding that she was booked into jail on suspicion of burglary.
Investigators told KTXL that Lawrence is known to be homeless and has been arrested a number of times for drugs, trespassing and attempted theft.
