Homeowner Shoots Intruder Who Broke Into Lakeland House: Sheriff

LAKELAND, FL — An Orlando man in Polk County is dead following a neighborhood rampage that culminated with him breaking into a house where the homeowner fatally shot him, law enforcement officials said.

Shortly after 6 a.m. on Friday, police say Mayson Armando Ortiz-Vazquez, 45, tried to jump on a school bus following a child who had just stepped aboard.

Ortiz-Vazquez attempted to get on the bus after he crashed his car into a chain link fence, detectives said.

"The school bus driver was a hero," Sheriff Grady Judd said. "She kept the doors locked."

After his failed attempt at getting on the bus, Ortiz-Vazquez then jumped on top of a car and started rolling around on it, according to deputies.

Ortiz-Vazquez eventually fell off the car and jumped onto another vehicle, and that caused the windshield of the car to break. A witness said Ortiz-Vazquez was growling when he jumped on the car.

"That wasn't the end of his rampage," Judd said. "At that point in time, he went up [to] the house of our victim at an undisclosed location in the area, and he burst through the front glass door."

Inside the home were a 9-year-old boy, his parents and grandparents.

The father grabbed a firearm, officers said, and tried to get the man to leave.

Ortiz-Vazquez responded by picking up broken glass and throwing it toward the father.

Investigators say the father then shot Ortiz-Vazquez.

"At this point in the investigation, all of the evidence indicates that the resident acted in self-defense, and ultimately, the State Attorney's Office will rule on the case," Judd said. "This is the second time in less than a week that a resident has been forced to use deadly force to protect themselves and others. If you break into someone's home committing a forcible felony, you likely will be shot."

When deputies arrived at the home, which is located in the area of Old Polk City Road and Walt Williams Road, they found Ortiz-Vazquez incapacitated and bleeding. He was taken to Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Detectives said he had driven to the Polk County area to purchase drugs.

Due to Marsy's Law, the Polk County Sheriff's Office will not release the name of the victim whose home was broken into in this case.