US yoga instructor kills 2 burglars in self-defence in Chile

SANTIAGO, Chile – A yoga instructor from Texas shot and killed two men who invaded her home on the outskirts of the Chilean capital, authorities said on Friday.

The men broke into the bedroom of 61-year-old Hari Nam Kaur Khalsa, hit her in the head with a weapon and tried to tie her up on Thursday. But prosecutor Osvaldo Soto said that she broke loose, grabbed her own, registered gun from under her pillow and shot them dead. Two other men escaped.

Soto said Friday the instructor is free because she acted in legitimate self-defence. But he said that authorities have requested a security escort because “we fear that she might suffer some sort of reprisal.”

A profile on the yoga academy website says the instructor was born in Texas where she studied martial arts and sociology and has been living in Chile since 1979. She told local Radio Cooperativa that she prefers not to talk about the incident now.

“This is not a grandma as you can imagine,” Jose Nunez, who manages the condominium where she lives told local press. “So don’t be imagining a little grandma who killed two crooks with her cane.”