An expat who killed an apparent home invader in a shootout Friday night said he acted in self-defense.
The resident, identified with the last name of Nicolaisen, said in an interview with the daily La Nación that a group of would-be thieves broke into his home in Bello Horizonte, Escazú, southwest of San José, dressed as “ninjas.”
Nicolaisen shot 20-year-old Jonathan Barrantes three times, while three alleged accomplices escaped in a car. Barrantes received two bullet wounds to the chest and another in his right arm.
The alleged thieves broke through a door of Nicolaisen’s house, and Barrantes was found with a “pistol in his hand,” Nicolaisen said. The expat, who has lived in Costa Rica for 20 years and was inside the house at the time of the incident, said he fears retribution from the alleged burglars and will improve his home’s security system.
