Florida Family Opens Fire When Intruder Ignores Warning Shot During Break-In

Burglars beware! Florida isn't the place to wreak havoc on innocent families.  In fact, the results could be lethal.

Just look what happened to Mitchell Large yesterday.  He was killed trying to break into a home and ended up getting shot by virtually the entire family.  The father appeared to have fired a warning shot, which failed to deter him.  He was able to make it the kitchen, where he was finally subdued by the man's wife and son ( via Fox 35 Orlando):

FOX 35 News Orlando

A man breaking into a Winter Haven home Monday morning was shot and killed by the family living there, Police Chief Gary Hester said.

It happened at a little before 7 a.m. on Lake Marriana Road Drive. A mother, father, and son woke up to the sound of someone, identified by police as 40-year-old Mitchell Large, trying to get in through a porch door.

Chief Hester said one of the family members fired a warning shot.

"[A resident] fired a warning shot above the door. That warning shot did not deter the intruder. The intruder didn't retreat," Hester said.

The chief said Large made it into the kitchen. But by then, three members of the Pena family were armed.

"It appears at least two of the family members fired in defense of themselves and their property," said Hester.

Investigators do not believe Large was armed, but Hester said it still looks like the Penas had every right to fire their weapons.

"It's not a very far reach to assume that if someone's forcing their way into your residence early in the morning, they're not there to wish you well," Hester said. "That's your castle that a reported intruder is coming into, so whether he was armed or not armed, when he failed to retreat, they certainly had a right -- if it turns out this way -- would have a right to defend themselves."

Who tries to break into a home when everyone is about to wake up, anyway?