



A man apparently will survive a gunshot to his abdomen that he suffered early Wednesday when a south Pekin homeowner, fearing a prowler at his back door, opened fire.

Someone was lurking around the home's rear 20 minutes earlier, prompting a call to the police from the couple residing there.

As the woman inside called police again, the homeowner "opened the door, found a man there and shot him," a police spokesman said.

The shooting victim, a 22-year-old Pekin resident, was found a short distance from the home in the 200 block of Derby Street within minutes of the shooting at about 12:40 a.m.

The shooter was questioned but was not taken into custody, said Public Information Officer Mike Eeten.

"We have a homeowner who felt his safety was in question," Eeten said. The homeowner used a handgun registered in his name and had a valid FOID card, he said.

Whether the shooting victim and homeowner knew each other remained undetermined Wednesday, Eeten said.

Police wanted to question the shooting victim before releasing his identity and that of the homeowner, Eeten said. Neither identity would be released Wednesday, he said.

The victim was listed in fair condition later Wednesday after undergoing surgery at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Eeten said.

The homeowner called police at about 12:20 a.m. to report an unknown man was trying to get into his house through the back door. Officers found no one at that time.

"The scene was checked thoroughly" for signs of an attempted break-in or other damage to the garage and property, Eeten said. None was found.

About 20 minutes later the woman in the home called 911. Eeten said he understood that the homeowner shot the purported prowler while she was still on the phone.

The wounded man ran "but didn't get very far," Eeten said.



Follow Michael Smothers at Twitter.com/msmotherspekin