A late-night knock at the door turned deadly in Houston, Texas on Friday after gunfire broke out between a homeowner and two men in ski masks claiming to be cops.
Both men were killed in the shooting that happened around 11 p.m. in the southeast of the city, according to the Houston Police Department.
Police said the men told the homeowner they were serving a warrant. They were wearing bullet-proof vests, had badges around their necks and were wearing ski masks.
Lt. Amber Khan told KHOU that the homeowner “became suspicious, because, you know, they have a ring camera too, and the suspects were saying they had a warrant.”
“But it was just two people and they’re masked up and no police cars, no lights or anything like that,” she added.
The masked suspects then shot a barrage of bullets through the door, prompting the homeowner to return fire. Lt. Khan said the two men were pronounced dead at the scene, despite officers' CPR attempts.
The homeowner was not injured. His wife and child were also inside the home during the incident, but police say they were rattled.
“Thankfully, no one else is hurt,” she said.
The suspects have not been publicly identified by police.
“Right now, we don’t have ages on the suspects,” Lt. Khan said at the press conference. “They look to be younger, maybe at the most in their 30s.”
Detective Kyle Stringer urged residents to know the signs of legitimate police presence.
He explained that real police officers do not wear ski masks.
“Obviously, a police car with some sort of lights and sirens and a bullhorn where we’ll be announcing ourselves,” he added to the list of things to look out for when verifying who is a police officer.
