A Fairfax County man was shot in his home Wednesday night during a shootout with an armed burglar, and police arrested the suspect a short time later near a police station.
The wounded man, 56, was in serious condition with injuries that were not life-threatening, Fairfax police said, after being shot once in the chest.
He lives in the 6100 block of Hillside Road in the Springfield area, not far from the West Springfield police station on Rolling Road.
The incident began about 11 p.m. Officer Bud Walker said the burglar was “making quite a bit of noise trying to get into the house,” which gave the resident time to arm himself with a handgun.
Walker said it should have been clear to the intruder that people were in the home, but he was apparently undeterred.
When he got in the house, he and the resident fired “multiple shots” at each other with handguns, Walker said, before the resident was hit.
The burglar was not hit and left without taking anything. Another person in the house made an emergency call, Walker said, and officers moved quickly and made an arrest.
Jonathan E. Anderson, 21, of the 8900 block of Arley Drive in Springfield was charged with malicious wounding and burglary while armed.
The case was unusual for several reasons. Unlike in many home invasions, Anderson and the victim did not know each other, Walker said, and police didn’t know why the victim’s house was targeted.
Also, Walker said, “the burglar was armed, and he continued to try to get in even though he knew there was someone inside the house.
Our experience is that most burglars are not armed and tend to target houses that are not occupied.”