GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — The family of a Gwinnett County home invasion victim said he's not expected to make it through the night.
The family of Kyle Rubio told Channel 2's Tony Thomas that doctors at Gwinnett Medical Center are expected take Rubio off life support at some point Tuesday.
His death could very well become a murder case after police say a neighbor shot the 23-year-old during a home invasion.
“They said that he probably didn't feel any pain or knew even what happened to him,” sister Kyleigh Rubio told Thomas.
Kyle Rubio was home Sunday afternoon with his girlfriend at their home near Loganville when the family said neighbor Brannon Walker burst in, angry over a $200 debt Rubio owed him.
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“He was trying to kick the door down and Kyle heard it, so from what I hear, Kyle grabbed a baseball bat and the gun went off faster than he could swing,” Kyleigh Rubio said.
Witnesses said only one shot was fired. It severed Kyle’s spinal cord.
As neighbors watched, police flooded the neighborhood and quickly arrested Walker.
In court Tuesday, a judge read Walker his current charges of home invasion and aggravated battery.
“He shot in self-defense,” Walker’s sister Cecilia Howard said.
Howard was also in court and said her brother was lured to the home and then beaten up, all before he fired his gun.
“He said that was his friend and he's very concerned right now because he didn't intend for any of this to happen,” Howard said.
As Howard fights for her brother's future, Kyleigh Rubio went back to the hospital to say goodbye to hers.
“I hope he never forgets what he did. I hope my brother haunts him in his sleep for the rest of his life,” Kyleigh Rubio said.
There is nothing official from Gwinnett County police so far on what they intend to do.
Rubio's family has set up a GoFundMe account to help cover burial costs.
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