A Washington state man was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder after police said he shot and killed an intruder who was showering inside one of his residencies.
Bruce Fanning, 59, of Mason County, discovered a stranger showering in one of the two residencies that he owns Saturday at around 8 a.m., Mason County Sheriff’s Lt. Travis Adams said. Adams added that Fanning runs a business out of the second property.
Fanning told investigators that he first fled the scene, grabbed a gun and then returned where he opened fire on the intruder, court documents said. Fanning told police he thought the stranger was drunk and became afraid when the stranger made threats toward him.
Police said Fanning fired four shots through the shower curtain, killing the intruder, according to the New York Times. Fanning called authorities after the shooting.
The victim was identified as Nathaniel Joseph Rosa, 31, of Bothell. Rosa had worked at Woodmor Elementary School in Bothell and was described as a “compassionate educator,” according to Q13 Fox.
Police said there was no indication that Fanning was threatened by Rosa and that the facts did not support Fanning’s right to self-defense. According to Washington state law, “no person in the state shall be placed in legal jeopardy of any kind whatsoever for protecting by any reasonable means necessary, himself or herself, his or her family, or his or her real or personal property.”
Authorities were still trying to determine why Rosa inside the property.
Fanning’s bail was set at $250,000.
