A father wrestled a gun from an intruder outside his 13-year-old daughter’s bedroom before shooting him multiple times, according to reports.
The armed suspect, who police said was in his early 30s, broke into the home in Texas just after 2.40am on Sunday, the Houston Chroniclereported.
A neighbour who heard the shots helped take the father’s four children, aged between four and 13, outside the home, according to the paper.
After returning to the home, the neighbour then allegedly saw the intruder stabbing himself with a knife in the family’s kitchen.
According to local news station KHOU11, the intruder was rushed to hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Asked whether the suspect had any connection to the family, Detective Blake Roberts told the Houston Chronicle: “This appears to be random.”
“Of course, it's still under investigation – we still have a lot of research to do on the male that broke into the house as far as his criminal history, his mental history and anything we can find in order to determine what would be the motive for this."
It remains unclear if the man died from his gunshot wounds or stab wounds.
