‘Just leave’: Harrison County woman shoots man accused of breaking into house

HARRISON COUNTY, Texas (KLTV) - A Harrison County man was shot after breaking into a house and is now under arrest.

Mathew Dillon George was charged with burglary of a habitation with intent to commit assault after he was treated for a single gunshot wound.

The Harrison County homeowner told us about what led up to Friday night’s shooting.

Lacey Anderson says she didn’t want to shoot anyone, but felt she had to as the situation escalated. She says Mathew Dillon George lives in the area near Juanita Road and has for years, and he had knocked on her door Friday at around 8 .pm.

“You’re not supposed to be here. I’ve told you. I’ve told you nicely, you know. Just leave. You need to leave,” Anderson said.

She says George had criminal trespass warnings written against him all over the neighborhood.

“‘Get off my porch. Go home. And I’m getting the gun.’ And so I proceeded to get the gun. I think that maybe he’d be gone or at least walking home when I came back,” Anderson said.

Holding a .22 rifle she opened the inside door.

“And he was standing right there at the glass door. And so I said ‘leave. Leave now I’m tired of telling you. I’m sick of it,’” Anderson said.

She says that didn’t work either.

“And he got his fist and immediately hit the top glass. I thought it was going to shatter. I think he did too,” Anderson said.

Lacey says she thought the glass door was locked, but George opened it.

“As he’s stepping in the door I held the gun up. And it was like it didn’t faze him that I even held the gun up. And so I pulled the trigger and I realized it was on safety,” Anderson said.

She got the safety off.

“As soon as I pulled it back up, I shot. And he just stood right there and he said ouch, or ow. And he turned and finally walked out,” Anderson said.

She wasn’t sure where he was hit so she called a neighbor to watch for him.

“I thought, I don’t want him to die. I don’t know if he’s going to die,” Anderson said.

She called 911 and the sheriff’s office and an ambulance responded. She says investigators told her he was shot through the arm and the bullet lodged in his hip. No charges will be filed against Lacey Anderson.

George initially was transported to Longview Regional Hospital, then later to a Tyler hospital.

Upon release from the hospital, George was arrested on a charge of burglary of habitation with intent to commit assault.

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