Police in Texas are searching for at least two suspects who attempted a home invasion that left one of them wounded and a third companion dead at the scene.
According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, they received a 911 call about an ongoing home invasion in Katy, located about 30 miles from Houston, Texas. They responded to the distress call at around 11:20 pm on Thursday.
Ed Gonzalez, Harris County Sheriff, said that upon arrival at the scene, officers found one man dead in the home’s entryway, dressed in full body armor. Deputies located the owner of the home and her two sons, who told them what had happened.
The ordeal started around 11 pm when two suspects dressed in body armor, impersonating police officers, broke into the home by kicking in the door. Once they got into the house, the suspects started shooting into the house without giving any reason. During the shooting spree, one of the suspects mistakenly shot his companion.
At the time of the invasion, only three people were inside the home, the homeowner and her two sons. The sons, who were sleeping in the same room, told the police that they had just gone to bed when they heard loud bangs on their door by people who identified themselves as police officers with the Houston Police Department.
One of the adult sons then got up to see what was going on, at which point the suspects opened fire in his direction. According to deputies, that is the point when one of the suspects mistakenly shot the other during the shootout.
Wounded and in pain, the man dropped his weapon and began fleeing the scene. One of the sons quickly picked up the dropped firearm and began defending himself by shooting at the suspects. One of the bullets from the gun struck another one of the invaders and killed him.
Seeing that his accomplice had been shot dead, the wounded suspect managed to escape from the house and ran to a getaway car parked near the home, that appeared to be dark-colored. A third man was waiting in the car, and he and the wounded suspect sped away.
According to investigators, the home invasion appeared to be a targeted attack, and they are investigating the invasion to determine its motive. The two suspects who fled are yet to be caught, and a search for them is still underway.
Two months ago, a 17-year-old boy killed two home invaders who had broken into his home in Channelview in Houston, Texas. On Friday, September 9, 2022, three armed men dressed in masks broke into the home, and in a heroic act, the teenager grabbed a nearby shotgun and started shooting at the men. He hit two of the men and killed them on the spot. The third man fled in a dark-colored sedan.
In another home invasion in September, one person died when two gunmen broke into an apartment in Houston and started shooting. The invaders fatally shot one man several times, and another person got hit in the leg.
Despite numerous home invasions, reports about the crime rate in Houston show that crime has gone down compared to previous years. In October, it was reported that by September, the homicide rate in Houston had dropped by 3%, while the violent crime rate had dropped by 10% compared to September 2021.
