I'm Baffled Over the Use of "Suspect"

It seems a 22 year old man broke into a house where a 66 year old woman and her family were staying last Wednesday. She shot him as he lunged at her. Ok, B&E, so what's the big deal? On the Sean Hannity Radio Talk Show this afternoon, they played a part of the 911 call tape from this incident and I was alarmed and baffled at what was said by the emergency operator after a gunshot was heard: "Was the SUSPECT (bold type is mine for effect - ed) shot?" Excuse me? Someone calls 911, explains that someone has broken into their house and is threatening them (will all appropriate emotionally charged voices and sound effects) for a reasonable period before the shot rang out, and the the question is worded like there isn't conclusive evidence enough to "label" the person committing the crime in real time an "intruder" by any chance? Nope...I bet the SOPs for the 911 operators train them to call perpetrators "suspects" so as to not possible give them something they can charge in court as being considered guilty before their trial. Give me a break. We no longer can name what things are, for fear some lawyer will let the guilty ones off on such a stupid technicality (and the judges will aquiese to such lunacy). PC run wild...