The shooting of Mendez-Perez unfolded just after 1 a.m. on April 23, when he and four other high school friends were suspected of breaking into a vacant rental home in northeast Denver, according to court documents. The family said in their lawsuit that the friends knew no one was living there and were looking to party.
Manning and his family lived directly behind the home. Police records say his wife had said goodnight to their son and was about to go to bed when she
saw about five males attempt to break in and called 911.
She
woke up Manning, who told investigators that he then grabbed a handgun from a lock box, made sure the house was secured and waited for police to arrive.
Manning's wife then called 911 a second time after
seeing the group inside the neighboring home.
After Denver police arrived at the scene, according to police records,
the group inside the vacant home scattered, with Mendez-Perez and a friend, Andy Munoz, climbing a fence into Manning's backyard.
Manning, waiting with his pistol, turned on his porch light and fired five times as Mendez-Perez and Munoz ran away, according to the lawsuit.