Video captures homeowner exchanging gunshots with would-be robbers

Resident Austin Orwig shot in hand but since released from hospital

Police in Kentucky have released dramatic video footage showing the moment a homeowner exchanged gunshots with four would-be robbers who then fled.

Austin Orwig, 24, was asleep at his home in Bowling Green, when four masked men, some of them armed and apparently with the intention of stealing from him, entered his property.

The video shows the men about to enter Mr Orwig’s bedroom and captures the sound of gunshots, before the men scramble in panic and flee the property.

Warren County sheriff Brett Hightower told The Independent the footage had been captured by a monitoring system that had been installed by Mr Orwig as part of a security system.

He said police had released it in order to try and identify the four men who entered his home.

“We have already had several tips and we’re following those up as we speak,” said the officer.

WBKO-TV said Mr Orwig was shot in his right hand. He was flown to Jewish Hospital in Louisville for treatment, but has since been released.

Police said if captured, the men could face possible charges of attempted murder and first-degree burglary.

“It kind of plays into with what the mindset of those individuals were when they forcibly made entry into somebody's home, came in there armed, and attempting to locate somebody and exchanging gunfire with them and shooting somebody,” the officer said of the video.

“It’s invaluable to have that type of video footage.”