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OKLAHOMA CITY – A metro homeowner has shot and killed an armed burglar in his own front yard.

Neighbors said the homeowner used a firearm to protect his family during the attempted car burglary.

“Somebody was trying to break into the vehicle,” said Megan Morgan of the Oklahoma City Police Department.

At around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, Oklahoma City police responded to the burglary call from the family at the far west Oklahoma City home. According to neighbors, who didn’t want to be identified, the family’s teenage daughter had her purse stolen earlier and the same criminals had returned to their house to steal her car with the stolen keys.

“The reporting party went outside and confronted that suspect; the homeowner was armed, as was the suspect,” Morgan said.

The whole family was in the front yard when a neighbor reports an argument began and 23-year-old Carson Welch allegedly pulled the gun.

“There was a confrontation between the two of them that resulted in the suspect being killed by the home owner,” Morgan said.

Neighbors said multiple rounds were fired into Welch’s chest.

Welch has a long rap sheet. He has multiple arrests in the last four years for aggravated eluding of police, concealing stolen property, drug possession and assault on an Oklahoma City police officer.

The homeowner didn’t answer the door when we requested an interview.

“If a weapon is pulled on you, you better expect it to be used,” said lawyer Jacqui Ford.

The metro attorney talked about if this kind of force is justified in this situation.

“It’s the exact reason we have defense of ourself and defense of other laws is to protect ourself in a situation exactly like this where trouble comes to you,” Ford said.

Ford said, since the burglar was armed and allegedly drew his weapon, the homeowner was within his legal rights to defend himself and his family.

“Things that the government is going to look to is who was the initial aggressor, was the response to the aggression reasonable. I don’t think it reaches to the level of excessive in this case, you shoot until the threat is gone,” she said.

So far, no arrests have been made in this case. Police are still investigating.

If you have any information on this, you are asked to call the Oklahoma City Police Department.

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