Homeowner 'devastated' after killing intruders

ST. LOUIS -- A 73-year-old St. Louis homeowner who fatally shot two armed intruders said the shooting left him "devastated."

The man's name has not been released. Police said he was working in his closed garage Tuesday afternoon when two men armed with pistols came in and demanded his pickup truck, which was parked outside. The man pulled a pistol from his pocket and killed both intruders.

"I wish it had never happened," the man told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Wednesday. "I am devastated over it."

He declined any further elaboration and wouldn't give his name.

Police Capt. Mary Warnecke said the homeowner apparently acted in self-defense, telling officers he fired the fatal shots after one of the intruders put a gun to his head and ordered him to back up. The investigation is ongoing.

Police on Wednesday identified the dead men as 18-year-old Jonathan Warren of north St. Louis County and 20-year-old Lonnie Middlebrook of Ferguson, Missouri.

Warnecke said the homeowner's pistol and two handguns linked to the suspects were recovered. The weapon believed to be Warren's had been reported stolen in Florissant on Sunday.

Neighbor Peggy Armbruster said the man and his wife have lived in the neighborhood a long time and are "super, super nice people."