Aleah Wallace, mother of four in Fort Worth, Texas could face charges for shooting dead a 14-year-old boy who tried to break-in her apartment through her daughter’s bedroom window.
A Texas mother had to take drastic measures to protect her four daughters from a burglar attempting to break into her home. Now, the police in her area are taking her case to a grand jury to determine whether she should face charges in the death of the teen.
On the day of the shooting, December 14th, Aleah Wallace and her daughters encountered someone attempting to break into their apartment. Wallace told Fox 4 News that she had no other choice but to respond. She told the outlet that someone was attempting to open her 8-year-old daughter’s bedroom window, and she shot. The bullet struck and killed 14-year-old Devin Baker.
The Fort Worth Police have declined to classify this case as self-defense and have referred it to a grand jury. The jury will determine whether the mother’s actions were justified or if she will be charged with a crime. Currently, Wallace is not facing any charges.
“I’m devastated that he was 14. I hate that. I literally do. And I’m so sorry. But at that point, I had to think about my babies,” Wallace told Fox 4.Â
A mother who was protecting her children threatened with possible criminal charges
She told Fox 4 that weeks before December 14, she had experienced multiple break-ins and had bought a gun to protect herself and her children. In Baker’s case, she stated that she was sweeping her living room floor when she heard the windows being opened.
“So I went, and I stood in the hallway. And I could see him standing at the window, lifting it up. I just shot,” Wallace told the outlet.
Wallace said that the incident had been bothering her because the suspect was a child, but she reiterated that she was just protecting her daughters.
“I have four daughters. It’s just me and my four daughters that stay there. I just was protecting my daughters,” she said. “I didn’t know he was 14 when he was on the other side of that window. All I knew was that somebody could come in and hurt me or my kids. That’s it.”
She said the break-in involving Baker occurred shortly after the police had left in response to her initial 911 call reporting a break-in.
“I called them at 1.22 am. She talked for like 20 minutes. They did a report, took pictures of everything and then they left,” Wallace said.Â
Aleah Wallace evicted for using gun to defend her family against 14-year-old burglarÂ
The shooting has led to Wallace having to move out of her apartment after the landlord informed her that tenants are not allowed to have firearms, even though there are no laws prohibiting tenants from possessing firearms in public housing.
She said the apartment management called her and gave her and her four daughters 30 days to vacate.
“The apartments called and told me that I was not supposed to have a gun at all, even though I kept calling them and telling them somebody was breaking in,” she said. They told me I could not have a gun, and I have 30 days to vacate. I feel like I’m back at square one. I was there for six years, and now I don’t know what to do.”
She is concerned that the eviction will hinder her ability to find alternative housing for herself and her daughters.
That’s really messed up if they charge this mother with anything, they should be giving her a metal for protecting her house. I don’t care how old he was, he had no business trying to come through her window!