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GREENSBORO — An 80-year-old Greensboro man shot and killed another man whom police say was trying to break into his Walnut Street apartment early Wednesday morning.

The shooting happened at 5:15 a.m. at 1125 Walnut St., just off Summit Avenue. Police said Charles Haithcock, 80, was inside the apartment when Michael Lamont Medley Jr., 19, broke in.

Haithcock shot Medley with a handgun.

Medley later died at Moses Cone Hospital, police said.

Haithcock was the only person home at the time, and it doesn’t appear he knew Medley, said Lt. Dennis Willoughby of the Greensboro Police Department.

Police are not saying how Medley broke in.

Police said Thursday that Medley was armed with a "deadly weapon," but declined to disclose what type.

Included in the evidence was a four-door Lexus sedan, which police found parked at Fourth and Walnut streets after the shooting. The car’s engine was running when police arrived.

The apartment sits one street over from the police department’s eastern division substation at 1106 Maple St.

As of Wednesday night, no charges had been filed, but police intend to meet with the Guilford County District Attorney’s Office later today.

Under North Carolina law, homeowners are justified to use force against intruders when in fear of death or serious bodily harm. The law also protects occupants who believe an intruder intends to commit a felony within the residence.

Specific details from the incident will be compared against the law to determine if a ruling of self-defense is warranted.

This is at least the third incident Greensboro police have responded to this year involving a homeowner shooting at an intruder.

In April, a homeowner on Pelham Drive opened fire when someone kicked in his back door. The burglar escaped to a waiting vehicle. No charges were filed against the resident.

In August, a man on Munster Avenue fired three shots in the air outside his parents’ home after two teens tried to break into the house with a crowbar.

The teens were running away when the man shot into the air.

He was later charged with discharging a firearm inside city limits.

Contact Ryan Seals at 373-7077 or ryan.seals@news-record.com