YIKES

Woman, 88, Shot by Her Own Private Security Guard: Report

The guard mistook his elderly client for a burglar on New Year’s Eve, his lawyer said.

A private security guard was arrested in Los Angeles after allegedly shooting an 88-year-old client he’d mistaken for a burglar, according to a report. The LAPD has not released the name of the guard who was detained on suspicion of negligent discharge of a firearm, the Los Angeles Times reports. The suspect, who is employed by armed-response security company ACS Security, shot the woman once in the torso at her home on New Year’s Eve as he responded to a burglary alarm, police said. The woman was hospitalized in stable condition. Jacqueline Sparagna, a lawyer for the suspect, said the incident was a “total accident” that occurred when the woman shined a flashlight at the guard—who had believed the property owner wasn’t at home at the time. “It was definitely dark, and he saw the flashlight and thought it was a burglar and the other person had a gun,” Sparagna said.