Indianapolis homeowner says he wrestled gun away from home intruder and shot him to death

A homeowner is shaken up after he wrestled with a man who broke into his Indiana home and then shot the suspect to death with his own gun.

Brent Smith spoke to WRTV-TV about the incident that police say was a thwarted home invasion attempt on Tuesday in Indianapolis.

Smith says he had just returned to his home on Marseille Road from the grocery store when he saw a young man go up to his front door and put on a ski mask.

He said the incident happened so quickly he didn't realize what was happening until he was hit by the assailant.

"He hit me in the head with his gun," Smith said. "I yelled out, 'He is robbing me,' thinking my neighbors would hear me."

Smith says he wrestled with the thug for the gun, and then the intruder ran out of the house. When Smith shot at the man, he heard more gunshots being fired at him from outside.

"At this time, I started hearing what felt like thousands of shots," he continued.

He says he fired outside with the intruder's gun and then with his own gun. He saw a group of people speed away in a car.

The Marion County Coroner's Office later identified the dead intruder as 22-year-old Damon Swanigan Jr.

Smith was emotional when he recalled the moment he realized he had shot and killed the intruder.

"That didn't make no sense, man, I didn't want to do that!" he said while wiping away tears. "I didn't want to do that."

WRTV reported that there were more than a dozen gunshots around the man's home, including some that shattered his windows in the home and a window in a car parked in front of the home.

Smith was detained and questioned but released by police. The Marion County Prosecutor's Office is reviewing the case, but it is unlikely he will face charges, according to a gun rights attorney who spoke to WRTV.

"Y'all need to find something productive to do," Smith said. "You don't need to rob me. I keep to myself. The first thing I noticed was the kid had on brand-new Jordans. You're trying to rob me, but you got brand-new Jordans on, man? I just don't get it."

Here's the interview with Brent Smith:

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