Suspect still sought in Lisle-area burglary

A Lisle-area man says he fired several shots at an intruder who entered his home early Tuesday in what appears to be a bungled burglary attempt.

Homeowner Richard Niemiec told ABC 7 he was “a nervous wreck” when his dog woke him around 6 a.m. and he confronted an intruder wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and a mask.

“I come out of the bathroom and he pointed, I believe, a gun at me, and I ... had a gun, too, and I guess I got off a lot of shots, and I guess I don't know where he's at,” Niemiec told ABC 7.

“You have a right to defend yourself only if your life is in jeopardy,” Niemiec said. “If the man's running from you, even in your own house, you can't shoot him. You can only shoot him if your life is in danger and I believed at that time that he had a weapon aimed at me.”

Nearby Steeple Run Elementary School was locked down for roughly three hours as DuPage County sheriff's deputies hunted for what they believed was an armed suspect.

Authorities said they believe the intruder entered through the rear door of the home in the 27W700 block of Woodcrest Road, in the Steeple Run subdivision near Lisle and Naperville.

The burglar fled and was last seen running east. Police said they are looking for a tall, thin person whose race and gender were obscured by the sweatshirt and mask.

Naperville Unit District 203 officials alerted parents of Steeple Run students via text message to keep their children home until the area was deemed safe around 10 a.m.

Children who already were being bused to school were taken to Kennedy Junior High School until they received the all-clear from police.