Shooting victim speaks about Hampden home invasion

BALTIMORE (WBFF) - A Hamden man is home recovering after being shot twice by a home intruder on Tuesday night.

It was just after 8 p.m. Tuesday when 28-year-old T.J. Butler says someone opened the interior door to his Ash Street apartment.

“He opened the door, he pushes by me,” Butler said. “He has the gun up.”

It was less than two months ago that Butler moved into the first-floor unit of his apartment in the 3500 block of Ash Street.

He said: “People said, ‘You’re living in Baltimore, be careful!’”

The Michigan native never thought he would become a victim.

“I couldn’t figure out why someone was [expletive] with me,” Butler said. “I thought it was a joke.”

However, the bullets proved otherwise.

Butler recounts the surreal moments after he saw a shadow briefly open his door.

“I opened the door, he pushes through, gets to there, has the gun raised and gets to me.”

Little did he know that upstairs, his roommate was tied up by two men as they ransacked her room.

“She is happy to be alive,” he said. So is Butler. He says he heard four shots.

“This ear was ringing,” he recalled. “Then I was pushing pushing him down. The door was closed and I was pushing him, because I didn’t know what else to do. He gets around and I feel this arm spasm.”

He was able to unlock his exterior door and escape, only later realizing he was shot twice.

“In the movies, you get shot and you know you're shot,” he said. “It was weird to walk and talk to them and say 'I think I’m shot' and not know for sure.”

One bullet went through his right arm; the other grazed his chest and the back of his left arm.

“It missed bone, missed nerve, hit straight through the muscle here,” he said. “This was a graze and the back of my left arm. That’s as good as you can get, I think, if you’re gonna take a bullet.”

As the police continue to investigate, Butler and his roommates will make some changes.

“It’s going to bring up conversations. We’ll talk about safety in the house.”

Butler says he has very little suspect information, since the man was wearing a mask, coat and gloves. Police say they have no suspect in custody.