MANVILLE — A burglar was shot inside a home by its owner, an off-duty police officer late Sunday night, according to a report.

ABC 7 Eyewitness News reported the officer went to check on a noise when he ran into the burglar inside his home on Knopf St at 5th Avenue just before midnight, and opened fire. One person was hospitalized, according to the report.

The Somerset County Prosecutor's Office is investigating the incident and has not yet released any information about the incident. It was not yet clear what else occured in the home leading up to the shooting.

Under New Jersey law, a person being attacked must generally try to retreat, if possible, before using deadly force in self-defense. But under New Jersey's "Castle Doctrine" act, that requirement does not exist in one's own home.

"No person should be required, as a point of law, to surrender their personal safety or well being to the unlawful actions of a criminal, nor to needlessly retreat in the face of intrusion or attack," the law states. "It is, therefore, altogether fitting and proper, and within the public interest, to ensure that law-abiding people are justified in protecting themselves, their families and others from intruders and attackers, and that they may do so without fear of prosecution or civil action."

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com.

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