Burlington homeowner confronts axe-wielding man with shotgun

No one was injured Sunday morning when a man showed up at another man's doorstep with an axe, according to Burlington police.

Around 9 a.m., officers with the Burlington Police Department responded to a home in the 700 block of Edinburgh Court.

According to investigators, the suspect used an axe he found in the yard to try to break in the back door of the home, which was occupied. The homeowner confronted the suspect with a shotgun and pointed it at him, according to police.

The suspect, identified as William Lawrence Cowan, 29, of W. Front Street, fled the scene on foot.

Cowan was arrested and charged with breaking or entering a building with the intent to commit felony/larceny. He was being held at the Alamance County Detention Center under a $5,000 bond.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Burlington Police Department at 336-229-3500 or, for anonymous methods, Crime Stoppers at 336-229-7100.