BELINGHAM - A 75-year-old Bellingham homeowner held two teenage burglars at gunpoint until officers showed up early Tuesday, Nov. 27, according to police.

The man was awakened at 2:20 a.m. by strange sounds coming from a detached garage at his home in the 2800 block of Lynn Street, said Bellingham police spokesman Mark Young. The man grabbed a shotgun and went outside.

In the garage he caught two brothers, age 15 and 17, rifling through one of his vehicles.

According to police, one brother shouted, "Don't shoot!"

The homeowner aimed the shotgun at them while a relative, who lives in the home, called 911.

Four minutes later, police arrived and arrested the brothers. A backpack stuffed with burglary tools, a flashlight, gloves and a marijuana pipe was impounded by police, Young said. No stolen property was in the pack.

A door leading to the garage had been secured with a U-lock, Young said, but the lock was removed. It hasn't been recovered.

The brothers were booked into juvenile detention on investigation of residential burglary in the second degree.