By Dana Feldman
LOS ANGELES, Oct 28 (Reuters) – A California man shot dead
after breaking into a young family’s suburban home over the
weekend had ranted about zombies hours before he showed up
screaming threats in their backyard and smashed into their
house, authorities said on Monday.
The Orange County Sheriff’s department said that 22-year-old
Paul Michael Bracamontes was killed in the affluent community of
Yorba Linda by a homeowner who awoke before dawn on Sunday to
find him screaming in the backyard.
The homeowner, whose wife and infant were inside the house,
shot Bracamontes after he broke in through a glass door before
police were able to respond to an emergency call, authorities
said.
“He was making threats to harm the homeowners and said that
there were five more people out front that were going to harm
them,” Lieutenant Jeff Hallock of the Orange County Sheriff’s
Department said. “We’re sure those other people didn’t exist.”
Hallock said the man’s relatives told authorities that he
had been hallucinating at a party on Saturday evening and had
made several “inappropriate” comments about zombies to a family
member.
“He indicated that he needed or wanted a gun before leaving
the party,” Hallock said. “The next thing they knew, he was gone
and that was the last they heard or saw of him.”
Hallock would not say how many shots were fired but
confirmed the gun used was registered to the homeowner, who he
said was “very upset” about the incident. Authorities said the
homeowner would not be charged because he acted in self defense.
Authorities were looking into whether drugs or alcohol may
have been involved. Hallock could not say if Bracamontes had a
history of mental illness. The couple told deputies they did not
know Bracamontes.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Orange County Superior
Court records show that Bracamontes was charged with public
intoxication in January 2013, but the case was dismissed in
April.
(Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Lisa Shumaker)
