Residents praise Loganville mother who shot intruder

Residents of Loganville are praising the actions of a local mother who opened fire on an alleged home intruder.

On Friday, a woman shot 32-year-old Paul Slater after he allegedly broke into her house on Henderson Ridge Lane. Slater was shot five times in the face and neck.

The shooting has been the talk of the town. Patrons of the Cup and Saucer Coffee Shop agreed with the mother's actions.

"She did the right thing, protecting her own kids, in her own house. He should not have entered to start with. That is what he did wrong," said Junior Blake.

Other residents said they would have acted similarly.

"I would have done the same thing. You know, what goes on outside the house is different. But once they enter the house you have the right to protect your family," said one man.

Walton County authorities said the stay-at-home mom watched Slater pull up and ring the doorbell. When she didn't answer, investigators say the man grabbed a crowbar from his car. The mother called 911, grabbed her revolver and hid in a crawl space with her 9-year-old twins

"All of the sudden, the crawlspace door opens where she and her two children are and she is face-to-face with this perpetrator, who is in turn staring at her and her two kids and a .38 revolver," said Walton County Sheriff Joe Chapman.

Authorities say Slater drove off with multiple gunshot wounds, but crashed into a tree down the road from the home. Police found him in a driveway nearby.

FOX 5 has learned that mother of two had not ever picked up a gun until two weeks before the shooting. Her husband took her to the firing range to teach her how to use a gun.

Walton County District Attorney Layla Zon said that the mother was within her rights when she opened fire.

"Not only is she justified in using deadly force in her home, but the state is not able to prosecute her. She has immunity from prosecution in her own home when she is defending her home from an unlawful and forceful entry," Zon said.

Slater is charged with burglary.  More charges are pending, according to authorities. He is at Gwinnett Medical Center. His condition was not known on Monday.