INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — A teenage suspect is in custody following a shooting during an apparent burglary late Friday night that left another teen dead and a homeowner hospitalized in critical condition.
Authorities say that the two teens were allegedly burglarizing the home near 23rd and Ellison Way in Independence shortly after 11:00 PM on Friday when the homeowner returned home and confronted them. Police say that one of the teens, identified by friends as 16-year-old Dylan Thompson, was shot and killed in the incident.
The homeowner, who has not been identified, was wounded in the shooting. He was taken to an area hospital where he remains in critical condition.
Rose Donlan told FOX 4 that her son, 18-year-old Dustan Donlan, and Thompson were best friends who had known each other since grade school. She says that the two were home when she came home around 9:30 on Friday night. The two teens then left, and about an hour and a half later she got a knock on the door from police.
“We got a terrible bang on the door, telling me to open the door,” said Donlan. “They said there`s tragedy. A young boy`s been shot and killed.”
Police have not officially identified the dead teen, but Donlan says that authorities told her that it was Thompson. Dustan Donlan was taken into custody by police, but has not yet been charged in connection to the shooting.
FOX 4 was unable to reach Thompson’s family for comment.
There is still no word on how many shots were fired, how many people were involved in the incident and who actually had guns.
Neighbor Rhonda Power-Garcia told FOX 4 that she heard two loud gunshots, hit the floor, and crawled through the hallway while on the phone with police. She says she heard a man moan and then two voices. She added that her sensor light allowed her to see out the kitchen window, where she saw her neighbor on the back porch, try to stand up, fall back to the ground and then hit his car alarm button, possibly to call for help.
Rose Donlan says that her son and his friend had been in trouble in the past, and that her son had existing warrants out for his arrest.
“They grew up together in school, hung out here, down the street, riding skateboards, bicycles, everything together,” said Donlan, sho says she feels sympathy for the mother of the teen who died. “I can just imagine his mom`s reaction, how she`s feeling right now. You can only preach to them, but sometimes they have to learn on their own.”
