South Carolina Mom Shoots Home Intruder, ‘I Would Have Killed Him If I Had To’

A South Carolina mother of three is being hailed as a hero for shooting a home invader, saying she would have killed him if she had to.

As WHNS-TV (Greenville) reports, Ashley Jones says she was just minding her business at her Anderson County home last Thursday morning when, at about 6:00 a.m., she heard someone banging on her front door. She looked out of an upstairs window and didn’t see anyone, but she said she could hear people speaking. She called 911 and grabbed her gun.

When she got downstairs, she looked out the front window and said she saw a man she didn’t know banging on the front door.

“I yelled, ‘I have a gun, I will shoot you, get away from my house!'”

Jones says that the intruder and another person then went around to the back of the house, then tried to gain entry through the garage, and then came back to the front door. Two things happened in quick succession: the man kicked in the front door, and Jones pulled the trigger.

You can see the moment Ashley pulled the trigger in the surveillance video from Ashley’s front porch. Be warned: this video contains content that may be disturbing to some viewers.

“Something just came over me, and I got calm. My heart slowed down and I got focused. I told myself if he comes in here, you can’t let him get past your doorstep. You have three young children to protect.”

It is not clear, as of this writing, where (on his body) the suspect was shot. Anderson County Sheriff Chad McBride would only say that he has been taken to a hospital and is in “stable” condition with non-life-threatening injuries. He and the other person in the surveillance video are both facing charges, although McBride declined to elaborate.

Fox News identified the suspect as Cecil Charles Parnell, 42. He has been charged with first-degree burglary. The other person who was with Parnell at the time, an unidentified woman, was not charged with any crimes.

As for Jones, she says that she was only doing what any mother would do to protect her three children.

“Any mother is going to protect her kid any way she can. And that’s what I did.”

She also says that, when she bought her gun, she never thought she would have to use it. But she is glad she had it when she needed it.

“I wouldn’t have been able to fight him off. I never thought I would have to shoot that gun, ever.”

Police say there is no known connection between McBride and Jones, and his motive for allegedly trying to enter Jones’ home remains unclear.