A man in Burke County said he surprised two burglars inside his home in Valdese on Monday morning.

The homeowner said he had just gotten home with his 2-year-old when he found the two men inside.

Paul Miller said the home was ransacked and he heard noises coming from a hallway.

“It was absolute rage,” Miller said. “By the time I got down to the end of the hallway, all I could think of was Libby. That's when I threw him aside and went after her.”

Libby is Miller's 2-year-old daughter. He had left her in the car as he carried items inside, not knowing the men were there.

Eyewitness News was there as police searched around homes with guns drawn. One neighbor had chased the men in his car, and another fired warning shots after one went through his yard.

By Monday afternoon, police had two men in custody. Daryl Ingle and Mathew Nix are both charged with felony breaking and entering and larceny. 

Dale Christian was there as officers made one of the arrests.

“I wish they'd lock them all up,” Christian said. “They spend all this time doing break-ins, when they should just go and get a job.”

Police said one of the men just got out of jail last September and is wanted on a half-dozen charges in the Hickory area.

Both men are scheduled to appear before a judge Tuesday morning in Morganton.