News 12 First at Five; June 29, 2009

AIKEN CTY, S.C. --- A mid-morning shootout in Aiken County leaves at least 9 shots fired between two men. Now, investigators are looking for the burglar and his get-away driver.

Jim Westbrook was leaving his home Monday morning to go hunting, when something went wrong. He forgot a camera and came back to find a man walking through his parents front yard, which is right behind his parents home at 146 Westbrook Farms Trail, about two miles east of the Aiken Airport.

Moments later, a gunfight ensued. Now, there is shattered glass and bullet holes in his pick up truck, signs of a wild Monday morning shootout at his parents home.

"I was thinking, I'm going to kill him before he killed me," says Jim. The he, is the burglar.

"I was leaning over my truck and the shots came," he says. "The first bullet hit right here (the back window of his truck)."

It all started when Jim forgot some hunting equipment and headed back to his home. "When I came back, I actually saw the guy walking through the yard."

Investigators say one of the suspects was carrying two hunting rifles, a black powder rifle and a pistol, all of which were likely stolen from the home.

"I told him sir please stop. Drop the firearms. He dropped the three guns and pulled out the pistol on me and shot at me three times," says Jim.

Jim actually told investigators he was shot at three times. Investigators did not find any shell casings from the bullets, but they did find six shell casings from the six shots Jim shot towards the suspect. It is unclear right now if the suspect was hit by any of the bullets fired by Jim.

Investigators add, the suspect left with his get-away driver, a second suspect, in a late 80's black Ford Mustang hatchback, with no tag.

"That's why we live in the country because we don't want to deal with this," adds Jim. "We don't live in the city because we don't want door to door crime."

It's crime that's now hitting too close to home. Right now, there is no description of the two men, but investigators think this is more than just a random crime. The reason for this is because the home is located in such a secluded area.

Also, they are trying to determine if the family was specifically targeted or not.