Dallas police said officers responded to a home invasion Thursday around 7:06 a.m. and found an unidentified person in the backyard, face down with a gunshot wound to the back of his neck.
James Michael Meyer, 72, told police he was awakened around 5 a.m. Thursday by a noise outside and saw someone attempting to break into his storage shed, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
Meyer told police he grabbed his gun and warned the person not to come closer or he’d shoot.
He said the person took several steps toward him, and that he then fired on the person, who ran toward a park behind Meyer’s home. Meyer said he fired again “into the night” in the direction that the person ran, according to the affidavit.
Meyer told police he was unaware if he struck the person, and went back to bed without calling police. He said he later saw someone lying face down in the park as the sun came up.
Meyer said he and his wife contacted a lawyer before calling 911 at 7:04 a.m.
The Dallas Morning News reports that Meyer refused to answer the dispatcher’s questions and repeatedly said he was the victim of a crime and that medical assistance was needed. It reported that Meyer has been charged with murder and was in Dallas County Jail in lieu of $150,000 bail Friday.
According to the affidavit, several neighbors told detectives they heard three gunshots around 5:15 a.m.
