A 76-year-old grandfather was detained by PJ police in Palmela after blasting off with a shotgun at four men believed to have stormed his home.
Shooting to protect his wife and three grandchildren, the man killed one of the intruders outright as the others made off in a “dark Opel Corsa”, writes Correio da Manhã. With police still hunting the gang, the grandfather appeared before magistrates on Tuesday morning and has been allowed home to his family.
According to CM, it was a “clear case of self-defence” that led to the shooting in Quinta da Marquesa – an area of Palmela that residents affirm has recently been marked by robberies.
This may be the reason why the the grandfather – whose son is described as a GNR agent – kept a loaded shotgun near his front door.
Certainly, the story in Tuesday’s paper reveals the gun must have been close at hand.
The men, who had knocked at the door on the pretext of wanting a glass of water, “invaded” the house and began by attacking the man’s wife, said the paper.
The grandfather “only had time to pick up a shotgun and shoot twice”, CM continued. “One man fell dead. The others fled, leaving their friend behind.”
According to the paper, the same group is believed to be behind a wave of break-ins in the area.
The wife – also in her late 70s – had to be assisted by firemen called to the scene, while the three grandchildren, all girls, were given psychiatric support by INEM emergency professionals.
The paper adds that the dead man was in his 30s, a resident of Seixal, with no fixed employment.
