How a A St. Helena Island woman’s bold move put three would-be burglars to flight

The victim of an armed attempted residential burglary on St. Helena Island used her home’s burglar alarm Wednesday morning to scare three would-be intruders away, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report.

The woman heard people on her Dulamo Road porch, turned on her house alarm and then heard the people run down her porch steps and disappear into the woods across the street, according to the report made available Thursday. As they ran away, she heard gun shots.

The woman was upstairs when she first heard someone trying to enter her back door, according to the report. She briefly shut herself in the bathroom before deciding to venture downstairs to set off the alarm. The three then ran away.

“As they got to the furthest electric line (in her front yard), three shots were fired into the air as they were running,” according to the report. No one was injured.

Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office created a perimeter around the area on Wednesday to track the three suspects, but the search was unsuccessful, according to a news release on Wednesday afternoon. The suspects are described as African American males wearing dark hooded sweatshirts and blue jeans, according to the release. No other description was given.

Deputies found shoe prints at the scene but did not find any shell casings, according to the report.

Anyone with information can call 911 or Crime Stoppers at 1-888-CrimeSC if wishing to remain anonymous.

This story was originally published April 27, 2017 at 4:14 PM with the headline "How a A St. Helena Island woman’s bold move put three would-be burglars to flight."