Deputies say Florida woman shot man who broke into her home

OCALA, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Authorities say a Florida woman shot a man after he broke into her home near Ocala.  The woman was alone at her home Sunday night when a man came to the door and tried to persuade her to let him inside, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office. 

Investigators said they do not yet know why 27-year-old Victor Etherington entered the home.   According to deputies, the woman was in her kitchen when Etherington knocked on the window, demanding to be let in.  She didn't recognize him, and told him to leave, but he kicked in her door.

The woman ran upstairs into her bedroom, locked the door, grabbed her .22 caliber handgun, and called 911.
Detectives said Etherington followed her upstairs to the bedroom, where she locked herself in a closet.  He forced his way into the bedroom, and according to investigators, took off his shorts, in which he had defecated, and got into the closet where she was hiding.  That's when she shot Etherington once.

"I don't blame the woman at all,” said Georgia Robbins, who lives in the Ocala Park Estates Neighborhood, where the shooting happened. "He could've been a drunk, he could've been at the wrong house. When you do these things, you take the chance when you go into somebody's house, whether they're going to shoot you or not."

Investigators believe Etherington was drunk at the time. They found him naked, hiding behind the bedroom door.  He was taken to Ocala Regional Medical Center.  

"That's an invasion of their privacy. That's their home. He had no business in it," said Tracy Floyd, who also lives in the neighborhood.

Investigators believe Etherington lived at the house for 12 years before moving . Charges against him are pending.  Investigators said Etherington is in stable condition at the ICU.