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WWE Legend ‘Hacksaw’ Jim Duggan Says He Took Down Intruder At His South Carolina Home, Held Him At Gunpoint
Even without his signature 2x4, Jim Duggan was able to quickly subdue the man in his 20s and hold him at gunpoint inside his South Carolina home until sheriff’s deputies could arrive.
A South Carolina man was in for an unwelcome surprise when he allegedly broke into a home and found himself face-to-face with professional wrestling legend “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan.
Duggan told Wrestling Inc. that he had been home with his wife on Dec. 8 when an intruder came through the front door of his South Carolina home around 6:45 p.m.
Even without his signature 2x4, made famous in his professional wrestling days, Duggan said he flew into action and took the man down, then grabbed his .44 caliber pistol and held the man at gunpoint until Kershaw County Sheriff’s deputies could arrive.
Duggan told the outlet that after the man entered the house, they heard other people yelling outside. Duggan turned off his Christmas lights and instructed the intruder to be quiet in an effort to ward off any other unwanted intruders.
The intruder—who Duggan described as a male in his 20s—told Duggan and his wife Debra that he had been fleeing a group of people he thought might kill him when he hopped Duggan’s fence and entered through an unlocked door.
“Thank God we didn’t shoot him,” the 68-year-old said.
According to a police report obtained by USA Insider, the intruder later told authorities he had been trying to visit his girlfriend at a nearby house when her family threatened his life, pulled out a gun and then assaulted him by kicking and punching him in head and stomach as he tried to flee. He escaped and ran into Duggan’s house, where he encountered the wrestler.
“He just happened to run into the wrong house while fleeing,” Sheriff Lee Boan told USA Insider. “He literally jumped out the frying pan into the fire.”
Boan described Duggan and his wife as “great people” who were “glad nobody was hurt.”
Duggan said he opted not to press charges against the man, but did thank the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office for their speedy response in a message on Twitter.
“We would like to thank the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Department for their prompt and professional response last week,” he wrote. “A man who we had never seen before climbed our fence, ran through our yard to our front door, and was pounding on our glass doors.”
“Before we could get to the door, he opened it and fell into our house,” Duggan continued. “I held him at gunpoint while Debra called 911. We are safe with no damage.”
USA Insider reached out to the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Department to confirm the professional wrestler’s account, but did not receive an immediate response.
For decades, Duggan was a fixture in professional wrestling, known for his patriotic persona and penchant for carrying a 2x4 with him into the ring. He became the first wrestler ever to win the Royal Rumble in 1988 and later went on to be WCW's U.S. heavyweight champion in 1994, according to WWE.com.
Duggan was inducted into the WWE’s Hall of Fame in 2011.
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