A Mississippi homeowner walked out of his house early Monday morning to offer help to a driver he thought needed assistance. The confrontation ended with the man firing a gun as car speeds away.

A resident in the Woodhaven subdivision an affluent neighborhood in south Natchez confronted the man walking in his driveway in the early hours of Monday morning.

Natchez Police Chief Joseph Daughtry said the resident was awakened by his wife at about 2:35 a.m., who told him a car was parked in the road in front of their home near their driveway. The car was not running but had its lights on.

The resident told police he went to his front porch in an attempt to see if the vehicle was broken down and its driver in need of assistance.

He told police that when he got to his front steps, he saw a man walking up the driveway. He asked if he could help him with something, to which the man replied with curse words.

The man in the driveway then yelled to the person in the car, “Let’s get out of here, man.”

As the vehicle was speeding away, the resident said he yelled that he had called the police. At that time, someone from the vehicle opened fire, shooting three times, the resident reported.

The resident was not injured, but one bullet entered the home.

Daughtry said his officers and detectives responded to the scene and have recovered evidence from the home, which is being sent to the Mississippi crime lab.

At least one other resident in the neighborhood reported to police his vehicle was broken into early this morning and items taken. The vehicle was unlocked.

“We are canvassing the area this morning and looking for video. We are asking neighbors to review their video footage and look for anything strange or out of the ordinary,” Daughtry said.

“This is one of those situations referred to as ‘bumping.’ People go into a neighborhood and park the car and get out and pull on vehicle handles to see if they are locked. If they aren’t, they will open them up and look for valuables,” he said. “We encourage citizens to secure their valuables and lock their vehicles. We went through this a year and a half ago when we had a rash of wallets, purses and money bags being left on the front seat in plain view. We don’t live in Mayberry. The criminal element isn’t busting out windows anymore. That draws too much attention. They are looking for unlocked cars. Now, if they see a gun in the vehicle, they will bust out the window.”