Houston, Texas



From the Houston Chronicle of February 24, 2004:

Homeowner shoots intruder who flees, then dies



Police say a southeast Houston homeowner shot an armed intruder who'd broken into his house overnight, but no realized the suspect died until a neighbor found the body a block away this morning.



The incident happened in the Sagemont Park subdivision, off Fuqua and Sabo, a subdivision with neatly trimmed lawns and many homes with alarm system signs.



Around 10:15 p.m., three intruders barged into the home in the 10400 Kirklane and tried to rob the homeowner of his car.



The homeowner started shooting and the intruders scattered, police said.



Police searched the neighborhood, but the intruders were believed to have gotten away. Around 8:15 a.m., however, a resident one block away in the 10400 Kirkshire found what is believed to be one of the gunmen's body on a walkway next to his home, shot three times in the chest. A ski mask was next to his body, Houston Police Homicide Sgt. Jim Binford said.



Outside the home that the intruders tried to rob, police recovered an AK-47 covered with blood that one of the gunmen is believed to have dropped.



The slain gunman has not been identified. His friends fled in a turquoise Dodge Durango, police said.