(HOUSTON TX) – After a young house burglar was shot, wounded and subsequently arrested by Harris County sheriff’s deputies today, Sheriff Adrian Garcia praised the swift actions of deputies and a woman who was at home with her pre-school age child during the frightening break-in.

The woman locked herself and the boy in a bedroom closet and called 911 as the man broke into her home. Two deputies arrived quickly and confronted the burglar as he drove away in the woman’s vehicle, which reportedly contained two TVs from the home.

“We many times work hard to communicate to the public what they need to do under these very difficult and terrible circumstances, and she did exactly what we instruct folks to do. Get a phone (to call 911), have a safe place, take care of your family – do not try to be a hero. The Sheriff’s Office has plenty of heroes and we’ll take care of the tough job,” Sheriff Garcia said. “She gave us critical information, told us what she knew, and we handled it from that point on.”

“We are very, very grateful that the good guys and the good citizen were not injured,” the sheriff added.

The deputies hit Matthew Paul O’Hara, 21 with gunfire multiple times after O’Hara drove the woman’s vehicle at them in a life-threatening manner against their orders to halt, according to the sheriff.

After the burglary in 5400 block of Windsor Forest in northwest Harris County, O’Hara drove the vehicle about a block, then ran to a nearby home that apparently is his residence. He was arrested there.

Charges are pending against O’Hara, who was taken to a hospital and was expected to survive the injuries.

Sheriff Garcia met with the woman, her husband and their son.

“I tried to communicate with the little guy and he was unimpressed. He was more impressed with his mother, which he ought to be,” the sheriff added.

The Sheriff’s Office conducts home security inspections at no charge and helps organize Neighborhood Crime Watch programs. Go to http://www.hcso.hctx.net for details. The web site contains CrimeReports.com through which the 1.5 million residents of the unincorporated areas of Harris County can track crime reports in their neighborhoods and sign up for crime alerts via e-mail. The Sheriff’s Office free smart phone application, at iWatchHarrisCounty.com, can be used to provide anonymous crime tips to investigators on a non-emergency basis via text, photo and video.