Harrisburg City Councilman Ralph Rodriguez, stopped an active burglary late in the night, after the criminal tried breaking into Rodriguez's non-profit.
According to Rodriguez, the incident happened after 1 a.m. on Saturday night at Rodriguez's non-profit business, All You Can Inc.
Rodriguez says he was initially home when his phone had received alerts regarding the business' door camera.
When Rodriguez looked at his phone, he says he saw a man with a mask on, attempting to get into All You Can Inc.
The councilman says he was not sure if the man was trying to rob the business or if he simply needed help.
Rodriguez and his wife then drove out to the scene where they heard a loud thud coming from the side of the building.
The two went to the side of the building, where they found the burglar trying to break into another business, the Central Labor Council, which was within the same building as the non-profit.
In a video captured by the councilman's wife, Rodriguez is seen approaching the burglar while drawing a handgun.
Rodriguez then calmly asks the burglar to back up and to get on the ground to which the burglar responds multiple times with "is anyone in there", while gesturing towards the building.
The man then takes off, sprinting westbound on Berryhill St., according to Rodriguez.
Rodriguez then pursues the man and stops shortly after to call police.
When authorities arrived at the scene, they quickly secured the area and a search was conducted.
K-9 units got the burglar's scent from the window that he had tried to open, but were unsuccessful in catching the culprit.
In a statement to the public on Facebook, Councilman Rodriguez explained the ordeal:
To the residents of our beautiful city of Harrisburg. Last night at approx 1:15-1:20 am ish, I was the target of an attempted Burglary/Robbery. What they didn't know was, I'm not the average public figure. I was able to catch the perpetrator red handed attempting to get inside of our building. As he wouldn't lay down on command, and continued to reach for something, I left distance between us in case there was a need to defend my life. After he repeated "Is anyone in there" three times he took off quick into the darkness. I managed to get a decent photo of his face from the camera, and you can hear his voice in the video. If anyone has any information, that leads to the whereabouts, or the arrest of this man, there is a reward for your efforts. These forms of intimidation will not stop me from serving the residents of Harrisburg. In fact, it compels me to do more. Everyone is ok, but I'm very concerned for our residents when I know individuals like this are on the loose.
The investigation into the burglary is currently ongoing.