Man Shoots, Kills Maintenance Worker After Mistaking Him For A Burglar

A man shot and killed a maintenance worker after suspecting that he was a burglar attempting to break in.

The victim, identified as Cesar Montelongo, 53, was checking pipes at the Clayton Point Apartments on Alouette Drive in Grand Prairie on Christmas Eve. Montelongo was standing on a balcony at around 6 p.m. when the resident of that apartment noticed him. The resident mistakenly believed that his apartment was being burglarized by Montelongo. He immediately grabbed a gun and shot Montelongo through the window, New York Post reported.

When officers responded to the scene, they found Montelongo lying on the balcony with a gunshot wound. He was rushed to the hospital for immediate treatment. However, despite the efforts, he was pronounced dead at the hospital.

According to detectives, Montelongo was checking frozen and broken waterlines in the apartment building after several pipes on the property had ruptured earlier.

Following the shooting, the resident remained at the apartment and is cooperating with detectives. However, no arrests have been made as of now in connection with the incident, KWTX News 10 reported.

The case remains under investigation. The Grand Prairie police will refer the case to the Tarrant County grand jury to review. Montelongo, who is survived by his wife and five sons, was killed just a day before his 29th wedding anniversary.

Following his death, a GoFundMe page was set up by his niece.

“My uncle was murdered Christmas Eve in an act of senseless violence while at his place of employment,” Kimberly Montelongo wrote on the fundraiser. “Today, on what was supposed to be his 29th marriage anniversary, he is being grieved by his 5 sons and loving wife. My uncle was a loving and hardworking man who gave his entire life for his family. His devotion to the Lord gave him strength.”

In a similar but unrelated incident, a man has been accused of killing an alleged thief by smashing a brick against the victim's head for trying to steal his phone in Jambusavari Dinne, Bangalore, India on Monday, Feb. 14, as previously reported.

On Monday, the accused, Sharath Kumar, 27, was reportedly talking to his mother on his phone when the 37-year-old victim, Manjunath, accompanied by two of his friends, approached him and demanded he hand over his phone to them. However, Kumar refused to comply and began walking away.

As Manjunath tried to snatch the phone from Kumar's hand, the suspect picked up a brick lying on his path and began bashing the block against the alleged thief's head. Manjunath, who suffered grievous injuries from the attack, fell unconscious and collapsed onto the ground. Even though Manjunath was rushed to a hospital for treatment, he was subsequently declared dead by doctors at the facility.