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PHOENIX, Ariz. - The wife of a homeowner shot by a Phoenix police officer is calling her husband a hero.
"He saved my family," she said. "He protected his family and we're all together tonight because of it."
The injured man remains in a Valley hospital, recovering from his injuries.
The woman, who would only say her name is Leslie, declined to describe her husband's injuries saying that the family hopes for a quick recovery.
Phoenix Police Sgt. Tommy Thompson said the shooting happened Wednesday night as officers responded to a flurry of calls in an east Phoenix neighborhood about shots fired, a wounded man who acted strangely after being let into a good samaritan's home and finally, a break-in at a nearby home.
According to police, officers arriving near 32nd Street and Osborn Road found a screaming woman who had fled her home with two children while her husband confronted an intruder.
Thompson said officers went inside, ordered everyone out and saw a man with a gun in his hand coming down a hallway. Police said Officer Brian Lilly shot the 35-year-old man several times, who ended up being the homeowner.
At a news conference Thursday afternoon, Thompson said he did not know if the homeowner actually pointed the gun at officers. He also did not know how many times the homeowner had been shot but said he was shot in the stomach area and leg.
During a search of the home, the officers then found a burglary suspect in the room where the 35-year-old had come from.
Police said the shooting victim had been holding that suspect at gunpoint.
The suspect, 37-year-old Angel Canales was taken into custody with injuries on his leg. The cause of those injuries remains unknown.
Both men were treated at a local hospital; their injuries were not considered life-threatening, according to police.
Officer Lilly has been with the department for six years. He's now on routine administrative leave pending an investigation of the shooting.
The homeowner's wife and other family members returned to the home Thursday night that now has a large piece of plywood covering the front window that was smashed by the burglar.
The full identity of the homeowner has not been released.
