Zillah Man Is Shot as He Walks in on Home Burglary

A 35-year-old man walked into a burglary inside of his home along the 1000 block of Roza Drive Thursday morning. He confronted the two men and was shot in the stomach. The victim remains in stable condition today at a Yakima hospital.

"They just drive around until they find places where it looks fairly open," said Larry Prindle, who lives next door and saw emergency crews responding.

Prindle said this is the second time his neighbor's home was broken into.

Neighbors said they feel their community has been the target of burglaries.

Prindle said his house was also broken into last Christmas. He says he's heard about thieves targeting Zillah neighbors for their gun collections.

Prindle says he didn't want to be a sitting duck, and installed a surveillance system.

"I've got two on the corner on the house. I've got them on the back side of the house," Prindle said.

A simple check on www.crimereports.com shows at least a dozen thefts and burglaries in Zillah in recent months. Neighbors have mixed opinions about the incidents.

"It's silent here. It's really not loud at all," said one girl.

"I used to live in Toppenish, in Yakima, I used to live in a lot of places and it's a lot different in Zillah," said another man.

"It's a pretty quiet town but I hear a lot of stories of burglaries and stuff. But shootings? I don't see that," said a Zillah man.

Prindle says he has one neighbor who is no longer taking chances.

"I went to the extent to get surveillance up so I can monitor," added Prindle. "It has motion sensors so I get triggered whenever there's any activity out here whatsoever."