PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala says a man from Elizabeth Township was within his rights when he opened fire on a fleeing burglar in his home.

Fred Ricciuti, 84, fired the shot at 25-year-old Raymond Hiles early Tuesday morning when Ricciuti awoke to find Hiles standing at the foot of his bed.

“I hollered, ‘Hey who is it? What do you want?’ Words to that effect. He made a move and I grabbed my gun and that’s when I fired,” he said.

“When you enter someone’s home with felony intentions you have the right to defend your family and defend your home and that’s what this gentlemen did,” Zappala said.

Zappala says the fact that Hiles was heading for the door doesn’t matter. In his view, Zappala says the Korean War veteran “did what he is permitted to do under the law.”

Elizabeth Township Police Chief Bob McNeilly tells KDKA neither his department nor the county police plan to file charges.

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