The first time Russell Jacobs knew Jesse Lyle Bruner was carrying a sawed-off shotgun was when the man turned to face him and pulled the trigger, police said Friday.
Bruner, 34, and "Rusty" Jacobs, 47, both died after shooting each other at very close range about 2 a.m. Thursday near 3700 South and 3100 East.
The lethal events began when Bruner tried to kick in Jacobs' front door. Unified Police Lt. Lex Bell said investigators believe Jacobs' house was chosen for an unknown reason, completely at random.
"It could have been any house on that street," Bell said.
Jacobs, a father of four, was in the house asleep, with his wife and an 18-year-old son. The three were the only ones home at the time, police said.
"Mr. Jacobs armed himself with a .45 and a flashlight and ran to the front door to see who was trying to break in. When the pounding on the door stopped, Mr. Jacobs, his wife and his 18-year-old son went outside to see if it was a prank but found no one in their yard. When they returned to their front door, they noticed shoe prints on the door where someone had tried to kick it in," Bell said.
Jacobs' wife called 911 to report the incident.
Jacobs then went back into his house, got dressed and got his .357 handgun, "because he trusted the .357 more, and he was concerned there might be a threat to his family and not a prank. Once dressed, Mr. Jacobs opened the front door to look around the yard again with the flashlight in his hand," Bell said.
After several minutes of searching his yard, Bruner appeared and started walking toward Jacobs "feigning an injury to his leg and asking to come inside," the lieutenant said.
Investigators speculated Friday that Bruner was holding his single-shot, sawed-off shotgun, which measured just under 2 feet, to his side and was pretending he had an injured leg to conceal it.
Believing he was the man who just attempted to kick in his door, Jacobs confronted Bruner to protect his family, according to Bell.
Recently, leaders in Jacobs' LDS ward had warned neighbors about burglaries in the area, Bell said. They believed that two homeless men, one of them being Bruner, were responsible. As of Friday, Unified police could not confirm whether Bruner was responsible for any recent car or home burglaries in the area.
Jacobs was "concerned for the rest of the neighborhood," the lieutenant said. "Mr. Jacobs followed Mr. Bruner as he walked north in the street, pointing a flashlight at him."
About four houses down the block, Jacobs said something to Bruner to the effect that he knew who he was, according to Bell. Bruner responded by saying something similar to, "So what if I am?"
Just as he said that, Bell said, Bruner fired his shotgun.
"The blast hit Mr. Jacobs’ outstretched left hand and flashlight first and then went into his chest. Mr. Jacobs then returned fire, shooting four shots at Mr. Bruner. Mr. Bruner was hit once through his arm and into his chest. Two shots went through his clothing in the stomach area but did not hit his body, and the fourth shot missed entirely," he said.
Jacobs' son, who had followed his father into the street, witnessed both shootings.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865640282/Homeowner-was-unaware-intruder-had-gun-until-shots-were-fired-police-say.html