Woman who shot and killed an escaped inmate in her home moments after he beat up two guards and fled from a nearby prison will NOT be charged
- Bruce McLaughlin Jr., 30, escaped from Pickens County jail in South Carolina at about 3am earlier this month
- He kicked in the woman’s backdoor and grabbed a knife sharpening tool
- McLaughlin was heading to the lady’s bedroom when she opened fire
- Woman had gone through training to get a concealed weapons permit
- McLaughlin died from a gunshot wound to the head
Bruce McLaughlin Jr., 30, (pictured) was shot dead earlier this month after he escaped from Pickens County jail in South Carolina and broke into a woman’s home
Authorities say a South Carolina woman who shot and killed an escaped inmate who kicked in her door won’t be charged.
The Pickens County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday that the homeowner wouldn’t face criminal charges in the shooting death of 30-year-old Bruce McLaughlin Jr. earlier this month.
The decision was made with guidance from the 13th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
Assistant Solicitor J. Baker Cleveland III said that the homeowner’s actions ‘are a textbook example of what type of actions the Protection of Persons and Property Act seek to provide absolute criminal immunity for.’
Authorities haven’t released the homeowner’s identity.
Sheriff Rick Clark previously said she had a concealed weapons permit and was home alone when McLaughlin broke in, armed with a knife.
The inmate was still in his orange prison jumpsuit when he kicked in the woman’s door and grabbed a knife sharpening tool from her kitchen in Pickens.
He was heading towards the woman’s bedroom when she opened fire.
McLaughlin and a second inmate, Timothy Dill, beat up two guards at Pickens County jail (pictured above) in an escape they had planned for days
‘This was a big guy. If she hadn’t had a weapon there’s no telling what would have happened,’ Pickens County Sheriff Rick Clark said.
‘I gave her a big hug. I told her how proud I was of her.’
The sheriff continued, ‘This is the shining example’ of why owning and knowing how to use a gun is important. She took the time to get her CWP and set herself up to be able to protect herself and not be harmed, killed or raped or whatever,
Timothy Dill (pictured) was recaptured by deputies without incident about the same time McLaughlin was shot, but the two were going in opposite directions
‘She came out on the good on this end and the other guy, the bad guy, didn’t,’ Clark said.
Pickens County Coroner Kandy Kelley said McLaughlin died from a gunshot wound to the head.
He had been in and out of the Pickens County jail about a dozen times on charges ranging from drug possession to assaulting a police officer to shoplifting and awaiting trial on first-degree burglary and grand larceny charges, according to sheriff’s office records.
McLaughlin and a second inmate, Timothy Dill, beat up two guards in an escape they had planned for days.
The sheriff said Dill was recaptured by deputies without incident about the same time McLaughlin was shot, but the two were going in opposite directions.