Elderly Florida woman shoots armed intruder dead at 3 am: ‘Decisive action stopped the threat’

An armed intruder in Florida is dead after barging into a home this week and being shot by an elderly woman who was armed herself.

In a Facebook post, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said that 64-year-old Reginald Best of Interlachen, Florida was killed after he stormed into the home of a 67-year-old woman at gunpoint early Wednesday morning.

The woman said that she heard the door handle of her home shaking at around 3 a.m. and thought it was her husband coming home from work so she got up and opened the door. At that point, authorities say Best barged in with a gun in hand.

“The woman who was armed with a firearm told Best to leave the residence multiple times,” police said. 

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Silver Lake Drive in Interlachen, Florida (Google Earth)

“The woman told deputies Best raised up both arms and she saw he had a firearm in his hand. Fearing for her life, she shot Best one time. After the shooting she called 911.”

Best was found by police on the floor bleeding from a single gunshot wound and taken to the hospital, where he later died. 

Police say they had received “several erratic calls” from Best and another female at a nearby residence on Silver Lake Drive leading up to the shooting.

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Putnam County Sheriff cruiser (Putnam County Sheriff’s Office Website)

“During one of the calls Best had told dispatchers he was hiding from his neighbors and there were people in orange standing outside his residence,” the post said. “In the call from the other female, she told dispatchers Best had jumped out of the window at 172 Silver Lake Drive with a firearm and ran down the street.”

The post added that deputies were on the way to respond to those calls when the shooting occurred.

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“This call for service is a perfect example of why I continue to support and fight daily for the rights of law-abiding residents to own firearms,” Putnam County Sheriff H.D. ‘Gator’ DeLoach said in a statement, adding that all firearm owners “have a responsibility not only to themselves, but also to their families to maintain proficiency with a gun, as our victim here today clearly has.”

“If it were not for her foresight to arm herself, the outcome could have been much graver. It’s unfortunate that Best was struggling with some apparently profound issues and posed a deadly threat to the victim and her family.”

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Putnam County Sheriff’s Office entrance (Google Earth)

DeLoach said that the woman was not alone in the residence, which was also inhabited by her 90-year-old mother, who is an Alzheimer’s patient.

DeLoach said the woman “absolutely” had the “right to defend herself” and that her “decisive action stopped the threat” and made the neighborhood safer by eliminating risk of further loss of life. 

Andrew Mark Miller is a writer at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.