Encountering employees, burglar fires shots inside Turlock's Home Depot

A man fired multiple rounds from a handgun when he and his accomplice encountered employees early Wednesday while burglarizing the Home Depot store on Countryside Drive in Turlock, police said.

"He did not aim at anyone," Sgt. Russell Holeman said, "and no one was injured and nothing was stolen."

About 4:20 Wednesday morning, 911 calls were made by employees advising there was a burglary in process, Holeman said. Burglars had forced entry in the lumber area at the southernmost end of the store, which was to open at 6 a.m.

"While on the phone with dispatch, employees went toward the back of the store and could hear sounds of shots being fired within the store," the sergeant said. Officers were on scene within three minutes of the original 911 call, but the suspects already were gone, he said.

"They were inside for a minute or less," Holeman said. "Once inside, they encountered multiple employees, and maybe were not prepared for as many as they found."

Fleeing after firing the shots, the two masked males broke the glass on sliding doors on the north side of the store to get out, he said. They fled in an unidentified type of vehicle.

There was no identifying information — age estimate, race, clothing — immediately available Wednesday morning. Investigators will be reviewing surveillance footage from within the store, Holeman said.

This story was originally published May 23, 2018 at 8:45 AM with the headline "Encountering employees, burglar fires shots inside Turlock's Home Depot."