Police: Mother Shoots At Woman Trying To Break Into Tulsa Home

A Tulsa mother is urging others to teach their kids to never answer the door if a stranger knocks.

That training paid off Friday when police say an intoxicated woman tried breaking into several homes after being shot at by another homeowner.

Police said Heather Ward tried to break into a home near 8th and Saint Louis through a kid's bedroom window; in return, the mother shot at her.

Neighbor Luz Vargas and her family live down the street where police said Ward tried to bust into the window of home near 8th and Saint Louis.

Police said Ward didn't make it far into a child's bedroom because the mother, with her two kids inside, shot at Ward in self-defense.

Covered in blood from shattering the bedroom window, police said Ward tried to break into several other homes in the neighborhood.

Vargas said Ward tried to break into her home too.

"My daughter is going, 'Mommy, somebody is knocking on the door.’ So I went up to the front and looked out the window, there was no one, so, then I was like 'Okay,' then I heard the dog barking in the backyard so I went to the back and saw this lady jumping off my fence and I screamed at her and said, 'Hey, what are you doing,'” she said.

Police arrested Ward, but said while she tried to break into other homes, she tried to open the door of a locked patrol car.

"When they [police] first arrived, the officer went one way and she came out the other side. She did attempt to get into the officer's car, it was locked, she didn't get in, she attempted to get into several other residences but never actually gained entry because the residents were smart enough to keep their doors locked," Corporal Wyett Poth said.

Vargas said she trained her two children for situations just like these.

"Nothing like this has ever happened before, but it is really scary, and I encourage parents to tell their kids to never open their front doors - that's what I always do; and, at this point, I'm very proud of my daughters that they didn't open the door," she said.

Police said paramedics took Ward to the hospital to be checked out before she was booked into jail.