GRANTS PASS, Ore. – “I was just like help, get help, she’s screaming for help…”
Lizzi Peden says she’s traumatized by what she heard early Monday morning. The 18-year-old recently moved into her grandmother’s home in Grants Pass.
She was reading a book around 12:30 am when it started.
“Loud yelling. He sounded very angry and then it sounded like a body hitting the floor,” said Peden.
She says the noise escalated quickly.
“She started screaming for help and then I heard the little one start screaming,” said Peden.
Then, there was a loud pop.
“I was completely terrified and in the midst of a panic attack,” she said.
Peden called 911, but she wasn’t the only one.
“She ended up calling up stating that he was in the house,” said Deputy Chief Jim Hamilton, Grants Pass Department of Public Safety.
Police say 32-year-old Michael Lee Fouch broke into his ex-girlfriend’s house just before 1 am.
“She was in fear for her safety,” he said. “She had locked herself in the bedroom.”
Police say he forced his way into the woman’s bedroom while she was on the phone with 911 operators. That’s when the operators heard a single gunshot.
“She did what she felt she had to do to protect herself and her child,” said Deputy Chief Hamilton.
When officers arrived at the residence, they found Fouch with a bullet wound to his groin.
As for Peden, she’s just thankful everyone is okay after a pretty frightening evening.
“I just hope this doesn’t happen to anyone else. It’s terrifying for anyone,” she said.
After Fouch was treated at the hospital, he was taken to the Josephine County Jail on domestic violence charges of assault in the fourth degree and menacing.
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