Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said an "out-of-control" man asked to be killed by breaking into the Winter Haven home of a U.S. Navy veteran Sunday morning.
The man, identified as 40-year-old Christopher Brian Deese of Auburndale, broke into one home and then went to William Cornwell's front door about 3:55 a.m. and started banging on it, deputies said.
The noise awoke Cornwell's wife, Traci, who told deputies he was screaming to be let in but she had no idea who the man was.
Her husband got his gun and told the intruder several times to leave, but the man outside kept screaming.
Cornwell, 33, who works as a security guard, opened his door and continued yelling at the man through a screen door.
Instead of heeding the warnings, the man ran into the home where Cornwell's two children, ages 3 and 6, were sleeping.
Cornwell then fumbled with the gun, and a shot went off into the floor. Deputies said Deese then stopped briefly, took off his shirt and yelled, "You wanna fight?," and charged at Cornwell.
A bullet from Cornwell's gun pierced Deese's chest, killing him.
"If there ever was a justified shooting, this is it," Judd said. "This is a classic 'Castle Doctrine' case … The mistake the suspect made by breaking into that home was a fatal one."
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