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Washington Man Kills Intruder Taking a Shower

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One of our American Concealed readers sent us this article in a Facebook message because he thought it was an interesting story. He was right! A Washington man, Bruce Fanning, 59, discovered a man taking a shower just before 8 am Saturday April 1 in one of two homes he owns in Mason County. Fanning told cops that he ran off when he discovered the intruder and went to grab a gun. Apparently, Fanning owns two residences next to each other and operates a business out of one of them. The shooting happened in the residence used as an office. He walked nearby and grabbed a hand gun from the other residence next door.

He returned to the shower and shot the man, identified as 31-year-old Nate Rosa. Now Fanning is facing a first or second-degree murder charge. (One article we found about this incident said first-degree while a second article said second-degree.)

Fanning reported that he thought the stranger was drunk and that be became afraid when the stranger made threats toward him. I mean, you’d have to be drunk or crazy to take a shower in someone else’s house, right?!

He confronted Rosa, shot him “several times” according to reports, and then called 911. He discovered evidence of a break-in and Rosa was making “non-understandable verbal threats.” A neighbor who was interviewed after the incident expressed dismay that Fanning didn’t call the cops, but instead shot first. Turns out, Rosa was an educator at an elementary school. Not that he couldn’t have also been a drunken threat, but to be able to work in an elementary school tells me Rosa didn’t have a record of doing crazy things or being a general criminal.

Unfortunately, we’ll never know why Rosa was taking a shower in Fanning’s business. Maybe he was drunk and confused about where he was and thought he was in a friend’s home. He obviously shouldn’t have been there. But what do you think about Fanning’s not letting the cops handle it?

Police said “there was no indication that Fanning was threatened by Rosa and the facts did not support Fanning’s right to self-defense.” Washington law states that, “no person in the state shall be placed in legal jeopardy of any kind whatsoever for protecting by any reasonable means necessary, himself or herself, his or her family, or his or her real or personal property.”

The problem, of course, comes about when you use your gun when there really wasn’t a threat in the first place. Sometimes it can be hard to tell that in the heat of the moment. Surely Fanning was freaked out when he saw what was going on. But was he really in danger? He could have just walked out. A man in the shower isn’t going to really be able to hurt you.

We think he should have gotten out of the house and called the cops and let them handle it. He’s now on trial for murder!

Image of Bruce Fanning in court taken from q13fox.com

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