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Man loses leg after being shot by suspect during home invasion "I wish I would have shot first"

Posted at 11:37 AM, Mar 23, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-24 03:20:29-04

INDIANAPOLIS – A man who lost part of his leg after being shot during an attempted burglary at his home last year said he wishes he would have pulled the trigger before he was shot. 

The burglary took place just after 6:20 p.m. on August 14, 2016, in the 5800 block of Somers Drive.

The victim, Miles Vanjelgerhuis, 31, told police he woke up to a noise inside his home and told his wife to hide their young children, ages 7-12, and call 911.

Vanjelgerhuis said he grabbed his shotgun and began searching his home. He confronted the suspect at the stairs, and they started fighting. 

"Soon as I reached the stairs, we met face to face," said Vanjelgerhuis. "I drew my gun and said 'hey, what the hell are you doing in my house?'"

In a 911 recording released by IMPD, the two men can be heard violently wrestling over the shotgun. "I hit him and hit him and hit him and he just kept coming," said Vanjelgerhuis.

Vanjelgerhuis can be heard screaming out in pain on the 911 recording. Then the gun went off -- amputating his leg.

"He had the gun pointed at my chest… as I pushed the gun down, it went off," said Vanjelgerhuis. "(The shot) completely blew my leg off. Both bones were shattered, blew my calf muscle completely apart. I lost all feeling in the lower half of my leg."

In the 911 recording, the victim's wife can be heard begging for officers to get there as soon as possible.

"I have three kids here," she says "I have three kids … we're in between the beds in the back room. Please hurry."

 

 

 

The suspect fled the home through the backdoor and Vanjelgerhuis was able to tie a belt around his leg to stop the bleeding before passing out.

The alleged suspect is described as a black male, approximately 30 years old, standing 6'3" and weighing around 225 pounds. At the time of the burglary, he had a short afro and was wearing a dark t-shirt and blue jeans.

Indianapolis police released a composite sketch of a suspect on Thursday.

Vanjelgerhuis has been on crutches since the shooting but was recently fitted for his prosthesis. He said the injury has been life altering, but he would do it again to save his family.

"You get people who say 'I'd do this' or 'I'd do that, but until you're in that situation, you don't know what you'd do," said Vanjelgerhuis. “I wish I had pulled the trigger. Life would be a lot different right now.”

A few days before the shooting, the alleged suspect was seen with two other males casing the subdivision in a silver, 1990s Infiniti four-door.

Anyone with information about this case or the man depicted in the composite sketch is asked to contact IMPD or Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS. Your call may remain anonymous.