Home invasion suspect fatally injured after clash with elderly South Carolina couple

JACKSON, S.C. — A man who authorities said broke into a South Carolina home on Monday died after an elderly couple repelled his attack.

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Harold Runnels Jr., 61, of Jackson, died Monday night from his injuries, the Aiken Standard reported.

According to the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office, at 2:15 p.m. Runnels knocked at the Jackson home of Herbert Parrish, 82, and his wife, Lois Parrish, 79.

“I opened the door and he said he was looking for his little white chihuahua and wanted to know if I saw it,” Lois Parrish told WACH-TV. “I told him, ‘No, I didn’t.’”

At that point, police said Runnels forced his way into the home, WJBF reported. Authorities said that Runnels, who was armed with a knife, used the handle of the weapon to hit the couple and cut Lois Parrish’s forehead.

Herbert Parrish grabbed a shotgun that was hanging on the wall by the door and then hit Runnels repeatedly with the barrel of the weapon until the attacker became unconscious, WACH reported.

“I felt, we’re gone. He’s going to kill us and take what he can take,” Herbert Parrish, a Vietnam War veteran, told the television station. “He was not going to go out that door and leave us alive. That’s the way I felt. That’s why I said, ‘I’ve got to do something quick and get the edge on him. Get the advantage on him.’”

Herbert Parrish said he hit Runnels “at least 10 times” in the face, “just as hard as I could hit him.”

When deputies arrived at the home, they found Runnels on the floor, bloody and unresponsive, according to The Associated Press.

″(The victim) was able to strike Mr. Runnels enough to the point where he fell to the floor still being conscious but unresponsive,” according to the sheriff’s office incident report.

Capt. Eric Abdullah of the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office said people should be careful when opening their doors to strangers.

“Of course, folks have the right to defend themselves if their lives are in danger, but the best thing to do is to call for help,” Abdullah told the Standard. “Every situation is going to be different. It may be a similar crime in nature, but every situation is going to be different. There’s no way to accurately predict exactly what actions that any person should take if somebody is trying to invade their home. The best recourse is to think smartly and get help on the way.”

Jessica Clark, a neighbor to the Parrishes, said she was shocked to hear about the invasion.

“This street is normally not that crazy or anything and we all know each other and everything,” Clark told WJBF. “I never would have expected it to happen here. And so I kinda feel like it puts a stain on this neighborhood in a way.

“But when I heard they were able to fend off the suspect, I was so proud of them and I was like, ‘OK, so that guy picked the wrong house.’”

A motive for the home invasion is unclear, according to the sheriff’s office.

Cox Media Group