Rochester, N.Y. — Early Tuesday morning, Christopher Boise heard a noise coming from the basement. As he walked toward the source of that noise, the RIT student noticed two men standing in the downstairs portion of his apartment.
"They were waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs," said Boise.
One of them had a handgun trained on Boise.
Within moments, Boise screamed. His cries were heard by his roommate, Raymond.
"It wasn't like a, 'I stepped by stepped on a piece of glass' kind of scream," Raymond said. "So, I instinctively went to my gun bag."
Raymond owns an AR-15 which is a military style rifle.
Raymond estimated that just five seconds passed until the door started to open. It was one of the intruders.
"By the time I had it out and ready, one of the men came at my door, slowly opened it, saw that there was a barrel on the other side and from there backed out," Raymond said.
The two men fled the apartment.
Nothing was taken and no shots were fired.
The rifle was not loaded at the time of the home invasion, according to Raymond.
"They decided this place was a good place to rob, just a wrong decision on their part," Raymond said.
"I'm happy he saved my life. I was very thankful he had his (gun)," said Boise.
Raymond, who is from New York City, said he uses the rifle for sport shooting at local gun ranges.
"The weapon was legal and he protected his property, said Rochester Police Chief James Sheppard. "We're thankful that no one was injured," he said.
Sheppard said there were BB rounds near the broken glass window.
Police are still looking for suspects. If you have any information, contact CrimeStoppers at 585-423-9300.
