A father of three suffered a heart attack and died right after trying to protect his family and his home from a couple of armed burglars who attempted to steal his pickup truck.
Fox 5 Atlanta spoke with Tasha Brown, the widow of 48-year-old Javon Brown, who recounted the moments her late husband confronted the would-be thieves at their southwest Atlanta home.
Brown said her husband’s alarm went off at 4:30 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 17, for work, but when the couple woke up, they heard his truck’s alarm sounding in the driveway and a loud disturbance.
“My side of the bed is closest to the window. I heard noises, scraping, a crackling kind of sound. I looked out the window and I saw someone was breaking into his truck,” she said.
Brown said her husband sprang into action and grabbed his gun to try to scare off the two young burglars.
“He came out the front door. And stood here, just yelling down to the driveway for them to get off of his property, you know, ‘Get out of my truck! Y’all get outta here!’ They started shooting,” she recalled.
Meanwhile, Brown woke her three small children and ushered them to a safe place in the house to stay until the commotion died down.
Neighbors stated they also heard gunfire ring out at the time Brown’s husband confronted the armed culprits who later fled the area.
“I heard gunshots. Seems to me, it was about 8 or 9,” a next-door neighbor stated.
Brown said that Javon wasn’t struck by any bullets but ended up collapsing when he returned to the house.
“He was able to speak. He was not hit. But then he went into cardiac arrest from the shock,” Brown tearfully recalled. “He dropped down. I called 911. I did CPR until I couldn’t feel my arms and hands, but it wasn’t enough.”
Atlanta Police said they were called to the Browns’ home at 4:35 a.m. and found the victim dead just inside his doorway.
According to a release, when Brown confronted the suspects, they fired their weapons at the victim. Authorities confirmed Brown wasn’t shot, but he suffered a medical event that resulted in his death.
Police said the investigation is ongoing. No arrests have been made so far.
“You work so hard,” Tasha Brown said. “You do the right thing. You take care of your home and take care of your family and someone feels entitled to come and try to take it from you.”
