"Home invasion triggers shoot-out"

Lumberton, N.C.

Raymond Rogers says he is lucky to be alive after a man broke into his home and shot at him repeatedly early Wednesday morning.

Tyrell Taylor, one of two men accused in the break-in, also survived, although he was struck twice when Rogers returned fire. Taylor, 21, was wanted by police for his alleged role in an unrelated murder. He is in fair condition at Southeastern Regional Medical Center, suffering with a collapsed lung.

Rogers said he was roused from his sleep about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday by the sound of someone trying to kick in the front door of his Greenville Road home. Rogers, 24, grabbed his .20-gauge shotgun and hid in a back bedroom with his girlfriend.

When two men entered the home and found Rogers with a shotgun, one began shooting. Rogers said he shot back, striking one of the men, but the man continued shooting as he lay wounded on the floor. Rogers fired a second time, striking the man in the chest.

"He shot at me about three or four times and he never hit me," Rogers said. "I reckon' I'm lucky to be alive. I had my gun to protect myself." Rogers' girlfriend also escaped injury. . . .

Thanks to Ivan Shapiro for this article.