HOUSTON – A man was killed Sunday morning while defending his family during a home invasion in west Houston, according to police.
Investigators said several people entered a home inside an apartment complex in the 700 block of Country Place around 7 a.m.
Police said the intruders yelled "police" before barging into the apartment.
"Three black males kicked the door, pistol-whipped the husband, ransacked the apartment (and) stole some items," Mark Condon of the Houston Police Department Homicide Division said.
Chris Brown, 40, tried to fight off the group while his wife and children slept upstairs. The men struck the victim several times with their weapons, investigators said.
According to officers, the men also forced Brown's wife and children to come downstairs.
At some point during the invasion, police said Brown was shot during a struggle.
The group escaped, taking the victim's Chevrolet Suburban with them, police said.
When emergency crews arrived, Brown was taken to Ben Taub Hospital and was later pronounced dead.
Police said his wife and children were not injured during the attack.
Houston police later found the stolen vehicle, abandoned a few blocks away on the corner of Ashford Forest Drive.
"A homeowner called in, and Precinct 5 came out (to the house), saw that it was the same vehicle taken in the murder and called us," Condon said.
Investigators said the shooters ransacked the apartment, which suggested that they were looking for something in particular. They said the invasion might have been a targeted attack and it's possible that the men knew the victim.
Anyone with information in the case is asked to call HPD Homicide at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.