Sept. 06--A homeowner who accidentally shot a firefighter in the leg early Thursday morning will not face criminal charges, Fresno police spokesman Jaime Rios said.
The firefighter was just "doing his job" and also will not be penalized, Rios said.
The shooting happened in a northwest Fresno home when a firefighter tried to gain entry through a bedroom window after no one responded to knocking, he said.
"When the firefighter opened the window to try to get in, the alarm went off and woke up the residents there at the house," Rios said. "They were thinking there was an intruder coming in the window."
The homeowner got his gun and fired a shot that grazed the firefighter's leg above the knee and resulted in a hospital trip, but Rios said the injury was minor. The homeowner's gun will not be confiscated.
The incident happened after paramedics said they received a medical alert from a home on North Cleo Avenue, Fire Department spokesman Koby Johns said. Paramedics couldn't get into the home, in a subdivision west of Figarden Loop Park and north of Bullard Avenue, so they called firefighters for assistance.
"It's common practice for firefighters, if they feel someone is hurt or in distress and no one answers the door, to force entry into the home to save a life," Rios said.
Johns said the incident apparently developed out of a misunderstanding. The homeowner said he does not have a medical alert device and the house was having alarm problems.
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