WW2 vet kills intruder with .22 cal rifle

By James Eng, NBC News

A 92-year-old World War II veteran says he wasn’t scared and was only protecting himself and his property when he shot to death an intruder who broke into his home.

Earl Jones, of Verona, Ky., had already been the target of three separate break-ins in August, deputies said, according to WLWT-TV. So when the Boone County farmer heard a bang in his basement early Monday morning, Jones was ready, quickly grabbing his loaded .22-caliber rifle from his bedroom.

When the intruder kicked open the door leading up from the basement, Jones fired a single shot.

“He kicked the door and as soon as he got inside, it was all over,” Jones told WLWT-TV.

“I was hoping another one would come up – I aimed right for his heart,” Jones, who served in the U.S. Army Air Forces from 1941 through 1946, told The Cincinnati Enquirer.

“Was I scared? Was I mad? Hell no,” Jones told the Enquirer. “It was simple. That man was going to take my life. He was hunting me. I was protecting myself.”

Jones then called 911. When Boone County deputies arrived, they found the basement door ajar but the intruder’s body was gone.

A short time later Kenton County Police responded to a call of a man who had been shot and found a deceased man and two others in a 2001 Chevrolet Impala.

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The dead man was identified by the sheriff’s office as Lloyd “Adam” Maxwell, 24 of Richmond, Ky.

The two people with him were brought back to Boone County and later admitted they were involved in the burglary, authorities said. Ryan Dalton, 22 and Donnie Inabnit, 20, both of Dry Ridge, Ky., were arrested and charged with second-degree burglary and tampering with physical evidence. Authorities said they removed Maxwell’s body from Jones’ home and drove away.

Jones was not injured and faces no charges at this point, WLWT reported.