In February 2021, a quiet street in Goldsboro, North Carolina became the scene of a terrifying middle-of-the-night home invasion — one that ended with an elderly woman shot, an intruder dead, and a 12-year-old boy credited with stopping what family members believe could have been a far greater tragedy. Years later, the story still circulates widely online, and for good reason: it raises real, ongoing questions about home security, self-defense law, and how families can protect themselves when the unthinkable happens.
Here’s what actually took place that night, and what homeowners can learn from it.
What Happened That Night
Just after midnight, two masked men forced their way into an apartment on South William Street in Goldsboro. According to Goldsboro police, the intruders demanded money from the moment they entered. The homeowner, 73-year-old Linda Ellis, was standing in her kitchen when the confrontation escalated and she was shot in the leg.
Her son, Randolph Bunn, was also inside the home at the time. He later described being forced to the ground by one of the armed intruders as the chaos unfolded. In the middle of the break-in, Ellis’s 12-year-old grandson — who also lived in the home — grabbed a firearm and fired at the two masked men in what police determined was a clear act of self-defense. The gunfire caused both intruders to flee the residence.
Officers responding to the initial report found Ellis suffering from a gunshot wound and rushed her to Wayne UNC Health Care, where she was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. A short time later, police located a second gunshot victim, 19-year-old Khalil Herring, at a nearby intersection. Herring was transported to the same hospital, where he later died from his injuries. Investigators determined that Herring was one of the two masked intruders and had been struck by gunfire during the robbery. The second suspect was not located at the scene, and the investigation into the case continued in the following weeks.
Goldsboro police stated publicly that they did not anticipate filing charges against the 12-year-old boy, concluding that his actions were taken to defend his grandmother and the rest of the household during an active, armed home invasion.
