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A man shot and killed one of three intruders who held his family at gunpoint after breaking into his Texas home on Sunday. Port Arthur Police said the one of the armed suspects, Terence Ellies, 27, died at the scene while his two other accomplices were able to escape before officers arrived.
Sgt. Shannon Meaux and Sgt. Chris Billiot from the PA police department said three armed men forcibly entered a home in the 2,500 block of 18th Street at about 8:31 p.m.
In a story from Fox News, authorities said the gunmen allegedly forced their way into the home as a female resident was about to enter the residence in what would seem as an aggravated robbery. The suspects held the children at gunpoint while demanding property at which police believe the 29-year-old homeowner was in another room and heard the commotion. While the violent home invasion was taking place, the father took his rifle and shot at the assailants "in protection of his young children”
Investigators say the homeowners may have known the suspects as the same home was the apparent target of a shooting around 6pm the following day. And in just a few hours later police had received a report of a fire in the same residence around midnight.
Port Arthur Police Det. Mike Hebert said there was no one home during the shooting or at the time of fire that destroyed a bedroom leading police to say they find the cause of the fire suspicious.
"We want the public to know we don’t feel this is just a random act where individuals are going and doing aggravated robberies,"
"The evidence shows they knew each other”, Herbert said.
Port Arthur News reports say, while Port Arthur Police Department's Criminal Investigations is digging into the incident, some local residents have suggested that the string of events may be gang-related.
Herbert addressed local media saying :
"Our law enforcement will not say what it all is. It’s all gang-related. Criminals get together and rob and steal. The detectives know what it is. They’re not willing to get out of their comfort zone."
The two other suspects are still at large as their descriptions have not yet been released by authorities.
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