Swannanoa woman shot with own gun defending her home

S W ANNANOA – A woman armed with a handgun who confronted a man who was attempting to break into her home Tuesday morning wound up being shot with her own gun after the two struggled, and the man escaped on foot.

Buncombe sheriff's deputies and Highway Patrol troopers conducted an intensive manhunt for the suspect after the 7:40 a.m. shooting at the home on Chalmers Way, off Patton Cove Road, but were unable to find him.

The young woman, who was home alone after her husband had gone to work, suffered a gunshot wound to the leg, Sheriff Van Duncan said.

"She confronted him on the front porch, and they struggled," Duncan said, describing the moments leading up to the shooting.

The woman was transported to Mission Hospital.

The man, who fled after the shooting, left the gun behind, Duncan said.

The man was described as white, wearing a camouflage jacket, with graying hair and a beard and wearing a gray toboggan.

Officers, including canine units, searched the area around the woman's home and along Patton Cove Road to where it crosses Interstate 40 at Exit 59. They also searched east to the Black Mountain exit (Exit 64). Much of the area is heavily wooded.

Duncan said officers initially had a suspect in mind, a homeless man who frequented the area who roughly fit the description. But when they found the man, they ruled him out, Duncan said. Around 10 p.m. Tuesday, the sheriff's office said officers were still searching for a suspect.

Late Tuesday morning, owners at Mama Gertie's Hideaway Campground, near the woman's home, told investigators that a motion detector was tripped at a women's restroom at the campground. Officers had searched that area, but went back to search further.

"It's very unusual," nearby resident Truman Wilson said. "This is a very quiet neighborhood. We do our best to watch out for each other."

Anyone who has seen the suspect or has information about the case should call the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office at 828-250-6670.