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San Rafael Home Intruder Flees After Homeowner Opens Fire

SAN RAFAEL (CBS SF) -- Police were looking for a man who tried to break into a home in San Rafael Friday only to encounter the homeowner who then shot at him.

San Rafael police said a 911 call came in just after 10 a.m. Friday from a house on the 200 block of San Marino Dr. just west of McNears Beach.

The homeowner told police an intruder broke a window at the house and was trying to get inside. Officer were on their way to the scene when they heard that shots had been fired.

"He was reporting that someone was breaking into his house. He had taken a firearm and he had fired shots off as disrespect. He did shoot through the window," said San Rafael Police Lt. Dan Fink.

Arriving officers and a K-9 team searched the home and the area around it but did not find the suspect, described as a man in his 50s, stocky, with a dark complexion and dark hair, wearing dark pants and a black baseball cap.

It was not known whether the intruder was hit, though Fink said there was no evidence of anyone being injured.

"At this point it appears that nobody was hit. We're still searching for the suspect but there's no indication of the scene at the suspect was hit. We are checking local hospitals," said Fink.

The suspect vehicle is a silver older model Mazda or similar station wagon.

The few neighbors KPIX 5 saw did not want to talk on camera, though they did say this is normally a very quiet neighborhood.

"We do have some people with cameras. We're searching their surveillance cameras," said Fink. "We have a couple witnesses that may have seen the suspect, but at this point it's pretty thin."

Anyone with information about the case was urged to call San Rafael Police Department at (415) 485-3000. You may also leave information on the San Rafael police website.

Wilson Walker contributed to this story.

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