A Texas mother of four fatally shot a teenage home invader who tried to break into her daughter’s bedroom window and now faces eviction as the case heads to a grand jury.
Aleah Wallace, 25, said she was cleaning her living room when she heard someone, identified as 14-year-old Devin Baker, attempting to break into her rental home around 3 a.m. on Dec. 14, according to Fox 4.
“I went, and I stood in the hallway. And I could see him standing at the window, lifting it up. I just shot,” Wallace told the outlet.
It was the second time Wallace’s house was targeted by burglars in less than 24 hours.
The teen allegedly tried to sneak through Wallace’s 8-year-old daughter’s window, according to the outlet.
Baker, who also lived with his family at the apartment complex, died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds.
The concerned mother shared she had recently purchased a gun to protect her family after she had four attempted burglaries before the shooting.
“I have four daughters. It’s just me and my four daughters that stay there. I just was protecting my daughters,” Wallace said.
The remorseful mother says she’s “devastated that he was 14,” but “I had to think about my babies.”
“I didn’t know he was 14 when he was on the other side of that window. All I knew was that somebody could come in and hurt me or my kids. That’s it.”
Fort Worth police have not filed any charges against Wallace.
Wallace, who lives in subsidized housing, received earth-shattering news that she would be evicted from the property for owning a gun.
“The apartments called and told me that I was not supposed to have a gun at all, even though I kept calling them and telling them somebody was breaking in. They told me I could not have a gun, and I have 30 days to vacate,” Wallace told Fox 4.
“I feel like I’m back at square one. I was there for six years, and now I don’t know what to do.”
Fox 4 reported that there were no laws that say residents in government-subsidized housing cannot have a gun, and no signs were posted on the property stating so either.
The Post has reached out to the complex.
Wallace fears the eviction could prevent her from finding other housing.
Baker’s mother, Latoiya Landers, said her son was a good kid with dreams of starting a clothing line.
“He used to tell me, ‘Mamma, watch. I’m going to make something of myself,’” Landers told the Star-Telegram Friday. “I told him, ‘Yes you are, but you’re going to stay in school, too.’”
The shooting is expected to be reviewed by a Texas grand jury.
More than 2,000 break-ins/burglaries have occurred in the Fort Worth area since the beginning of 2023, according to the Fort Worth Police Department.
