San Diego

A Navy physician was shot in the thigh after surprising a burglar in his home in the 5700 block of La Jolla Hermosa Avenue in La Jolla, police said.

Stephen Hansen, 42, a flight surgeon who works at North Island in Coronado, was released from Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla Wednesday morning, a hospital spokesman said. A single bullet had gone through Hansen’s right thigh, but he did not require surgery, the spokesman said.

Hansen entered his house about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday when he came face to face with a burglar descending a flight of stairs, said police spokesman Bill Robinson. The burglar fired twice at Hansen. One bullet struck Hansen, and the other hit a door jamb, he said.

As Hansen ran to escape through the kitchen, the burglar shot at him two more times and missed, Robinson said. Hansen went to a neighbor’s home, and the neighbor called police, Robinson said.

A canine unit and a search of the neighborhood revealed no sign of the burglar. Hansen’s home had been ransacked, and two pistols, a .357 magnum Ruger and a semi-automatic 9 millimeter, were taken, Robinson said. It is possible Hansen was shot with one of his own guns, Robinson said.