Shooting of violent intruder justified

If ever there was an argument for keeping a gun and knowing how to use it, last weekend's shooting of a home intruder was it.

Walter Francis Hetrick was fatally shot late Saturday night when he bashed in a window in order to get inside an occupied home in a remote part of Carson Valley.

East Valley homeowner Charles Cryderman defended his home and family from Hetrick, who turned out to be a very dangerous man.

The questions about what set Hetrick on the path to knock on this family's door may be answered over the next few weeks.

But one thing's for sure, Hetrick might have just as easily pounded on a door belonging to someone without the ability to defend themselves.

Hetrick's conviction for murder and the fact that a California judge ruled him insane throws a whole new light on the case.

Cryderman did not rush to shoot at Hetrick. He talked to him when Hetrick came to the door, yelling and asking for someone Cryderman didn't know.

Cryderman did what he was supposed to. He called 911 and told dispatchers that Hetrick was throwing bricks through the window in an effort to break into the house.

Dispatchers heard the commotion and then the shots that ended Hetrick's life.

Our sympathies go out to Cryderman, who really had no choice but to shoot a man, and to Hetrick's family, who we're sure have been through the wringer during his life and are now having to deal with his sudden and violent death.