Hammer-wielding intruder bangs on front door, enters home. But homeowner grabs gun, ends invasion in lethal fashion.

A Trenton, New Jersey, homeowner fatally shot a male who used a hammer to bang on the front door and smash a Ring camera before entering the residence over the weekend, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri told Patch Tuesday.

What are the details?

Trenton police arrived at the Bert Avenue home on a call for a shooting in progress around 10:25 p.m. Sunday, the outlet said.

A preliminary investigation found that the homeowner fired multiple shots at an unknown person with a hammer who was banging on his front door and smashing his Ring camera, Patch said.

The individual entered the home in the vestibule area at the time the shots were fired, Onofri added to the outlet.

Trenton detectives in the area on an unrelated assignment found the person who was shot — identified as Andray Ingram, 34, of Trenton — on the ground on St. Francis Avenue, Patch added.

Ingram had a gunshot wound to the chest and was taken to Capital Health Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, Onofri told the outlet.

No charges have been filed, Patch said, but the Mercer County Homicide Task Force and Trenton police are investigating.

How are observers reacting?

Facebook commenters seemed to back the homeowner’s actions:

• “I’m originally from Trenton, NJ. I moved to North Carolina 13 years ago. I have my CCP and carry my 9mm gun everywhere I go,” one commenter wrote. “This is the reason we also own a shotgun.”
• “The homeowner should be given a medal,” another user noted.
• “Good for homeowner but also bad for him. NJ is a flight before fight state. And [you] can’t use any force [greater] than the one being used against you. Plus you also have to show without a doubt you were about to [lose] your life before you take another, even for defense,” another commenter offered. “Homeowner will probably be charged.”
• “No charges should be filed. If you break into someone ‘s home that is the chance you take along with the choice you made,” another user declared. “End of story!”
• “Good for the homeowner. Bad thing is he will probably be prosecuted for defending his property. The goofballs now say that you have [to have] an escape route from your own house [when] someone breaks in, you must leave, and [you cannot] defend your domain. What have we become[?]” another commenter wondered.