Homeowner fatally shoots alleged thief

The shooting occurred around 3:15 a.m. at a residence in the 2000 block of Morningside Drive in West Columbia, police said.

According to reports, the homeowner, Richard Williams, said he saw a man breaking into a truck on his property.

Williams went to his garage and as the door opened, he encountered the suspect a short distance away on a bike, police said, and he then fired two shots, hitting him. The suspect rode a short distance on the bike before collapsing.

The suspect — who had no identification — was dead at the scene by the Lexington County Coroner’s Office.