MOUNT DORA, Fla. – A Lake County woman is recovering after being shot by her ex-boyfriend, deputies said.
The shooting happened around 12:30 p.m. Thursday in the 3000 block of Cheval Street in the vicinity of Sullivan Ranch Boulevard.
Anthony Schaus' family said he did nothing wrong and only opened fire because he thought she was an intruder breaking into his house.
"In our eyes he had to protect himself," Anthony Schaus Sr. told Local 6.
He showed Local 6 the damage on the door frame of his son's home and a footprint left behind after deputies said his ex-girlfriend forced her way in to get some of her belongings.
"He heard a bang and at first he didn't know what it was, and then he saw a shadow bolt into the dark bedroom into the closet," said Schaus Sr. "He got up with his handgun which he sleeps with on his nightstand and asked who was there. He got no response so he fired a shot to drop them."
Schaus told deputies he thought it was an intruder. He fired one shot, hitting his ex-girlfriend in the abdomen.
The couple had dated for two and a half years until they broke up several weeks ago. Schaus said that's when his son had the locks changed on the home.
As deputies work to piece together exactly what led up to the shooting, the family has been told to stay in Lake County. So far, no charges have been filed.
Deputies still have not released the name of the ex-girlfriend. She was in surgery Thursday afternoon and is expected to recover.