Man shot, arrested after following woman home from casino, breaking in, assaulting her
A man was shot and later arrested after following a woman home from a casino and attempting to rob her, police said on Tuesday.
Abington police identified the man allegedly involved in the home invasion as Khabir Shepard. Authorities charged Shepard with robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and carrying a firearm without a license.
According to police, at around 1 a.m. Monday, authorities responded to the home on the 1800 block of Horace Avenue in Abington for a report of a man shot following a home invasion.
Once they arrived at the home, investigators met with a woman who told them she had just gotten home from the casino when an unknown man forced his way into her residence and pointed a gun at her. The man, identified by police as Shephard, allegedly pushed the woman on the ground and grabbed her purse from the dining room table.
Police said the woman yelled for help, waking up her son who was in the back bedroom. According to police, the woman's son grabbed his legally owned gun and ran out to see what the commotion was. After the son saw Shepard had a firearm on him, police said, he fired two shots at him in defense of his mother's safety.
The bullets hit Shepard in the back and arm, but he ran out of the home before collapsing on the front lawn, according to police.
Police then arrived at the home on Horace Street and took Shepard into custody. Authorities said a handgun believed to be Shepard's was also found on the front lawn.
After he was arrested, authorities took Shepard to the hospital for his gunshot wounds. Shepard was arraigned and remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility, where he's being held on $250,000 cash bail.
"We do know the suspect was watching her, she was targeted," Abington Township Police Chief Patrick Molloy said. "This was not a random crime. They knew there was cash in that purse."
Police are warning others to be aware of their surroundings, especially people who are transporting cash.
"I would say if you are at a casino and you win money, take some precautions. ... There are bad guys who put a lot of work into this," Molloy said.
Police are continuing to investigate whether anyone else was involved.