Woman fatally shoots intoxicated intruder to protect husband, sheriff’s office says

PATTERSON, Calif. (Gray News) – Authorities are investigating after they said a woman fatally shot an intoxicated intruder in apparent defense of her husband.

The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release it appeared in surveillance video that Angelo Santana, 22, had been drinking and tried to force his way into the home Saturday night.

Authorities said Yuhui Zheng, 50, tried to physically restrain Santana and was involved in a fight with him at the threshold of the front door.

His wife, Yang Luan, 45, grabbed a revolver she had gotten the day before and fired all rounds into Santana to protect her husband, the sheriff’s office stated.

According to detectives, interviews with people who knew Santana indicated he had a history of alcohol abuse and would regularly show up unannounced looking for his friends in the same neighborhood.

No arrests have been made in this case. Preliminary findings by investigators show this was an example of self-defense, though Santana was not armed at the time of the shooting.

The investigation is ongoing, and all findings will be submitted to the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office for review of the legality of the homicide.