84-year-old Donald Kaighn let the woman who claimed she had a car breakdown into his house. Within moments she was spraying him with lighter fluid and they were wrestling in the kitchen. The World War II veteran went for one of the many guns he owns. She fled upstairs and he pursued her, gun in hand.
"I had one in my hand, loaded, and ready for action. She said something like 'stop or I'll shoot.' I immediately fired the gun."
At that point, an all out running gun battle erupted, bullets flying all over his front bedroom. Kaighn believes she grabbed 2 guns from drawers in his room to use against him. He's a gun collector.
Eventually he went downstairs to call 911. By the time police arrived she had vanished with his 2 handguns and some jewelry. Fingerprinting revealed she jumped out of a 2nd floor window rather than exchange any more gunfire with Kaighn.
"I'm a member of the NRA and I subscribe to their policy of not being a victim. I don't want to hurt anybody."
Police released a sketch of the suspect. She's described as a black female, 25 to 30-years-old, 5'8" or 9 with an average build.
There's been a plague of home invasions in these parts of Delaware County over the last year. The local police chief has a holiday warning.
"My advice to anyone, especially the elderly, if you look out your window and you see somebody you don't know do not answer the door," said Captain Charles Howley.
Police do not believe this was a random attack. The invader quickly found the victim's weapons, so it's thought she had some kind of inside information.
