BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. — A good Samaritan tried to stop a car burglary in progress Monday morning in his neighborhood and ended up facing a barrage of bullets. 

It happened about 2:30 a.m. Monday near S. Powell Avenue and E. 52nd Street Court South.

Tyler Reed had seen postings about vehicles being stolen and thieves trying car door handles in the Brittany Ridge Estates off 40 Highway between Blue Springs and Independence. He’d even been a past victim of theft himself.

But he wasn’t looking for anything in particular overnight, other than a bottle of water, when he happened to spot what he believes were three men rummaging through his neighbor’s car across the street. When they went to the house next door and started to do the same thing, he opened the door and yelled out. 

“As soon as they heard me start yelling, all I could hear was gunshots and I saw the fire coming out of the end of their gun, and I slammed the door shut and ran in the house,” he said.

“The whole thing is messed up. I don’t even know what the agenda is because they left money and then they take a phone?” the neighbor who had two cars rummaged through said. 

Neighbors who weren’t awakened by the gunfire learned of the crime through a neighborhood Facebook page.

Mike Jenkins, who lives a couple blocks away, was one of several homeowners who found the thieves had been in their driveways as well, but had been scared away by an audible alarm set off by his security system.

“Maybe they see this and know that we are watching, so we are going to try to hopefully scare you guys off as much as we can,” Jenkins said.

As for the man who tried to scare off the thieves himself, he and his family are lucky. One of the 7 or 8 bullets Reed said they fired went through a window and lodged in the bedroom where his father, a preacher, was sleeping. But thankfully no one was hurt. 

“For someone to open fire like that blows my mind,” Reed said.

“That is crazy. Anything could have happened at that point, a child could have been injured, another person. We could be talking about a different story in our neighborhood and somebody could have lost their life,” Jenkins said. 

FOX4 is still working to find out from Independence and Kansas City police if any suspects possibly connected to this crime are being questioned. One of the victims told FOX4 the family used the “find my iPhone feature” on the phone accidentally left in the car, and police were able to track it and potential suspects down in Kansas City that way.