80-year-old man says he shot, killed pregnant woman trying to rob him

An 80-year-old man told NBC Channel 4 Wednesday that he shot and killed a pregnant woman who tried to rob him at his Long Beach home.

“She says, ‘Don’t shoot me, I’m pregnant -- I’m going to have a baby,’” the man, who was identified as Tom Greer, told the TV station.

He said he fired two rounds and that a man who was with her fled the scene. “I shot her twice. She best be dead,” Greer said.

He said the couple tackled him and tried to ransack his home and take money from a safe. He said he shot the woman with a small .22-caliber revolver during the incident, which happened on Tuesday.

Earlier Wednesday, Long Beach police said they were investigating the fatal shooting.

The man “possibly interrupted a crime in progress” and used a firearm to shoot and kill the suspect, Long Beach Deputy Police Chief David Hendricks told reporters at a news conference.

A neighbor told KTLA-TV Channel 5 that the man had been robbed previously. “They literally tore down the front door,” the neighbor said.

A Police Department spokeswoman did not return calls for comment on Wednesday night. No other details were immediately available.

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