Home invasion leads to deaths
By LYNN HORSLEY
Mar. 27, 2006
Officers were called to the 5700 block of Newton Avenue about 12:30 p.m. Police spokesman Sgt. Tony Sanders said a homeowner told police that two men in their 20s had kicked in his front door. The homeowner told police he had been involved in a short exchange of gunfire with the men.
Officers found the two men, who had suffered gunshot wounds, dead inside the vehicle, which had crashed into a tree a short distance away.
Sanders said police had not yet determined whether the men died of the gunshot wounds or the crash. He said the homeowner was being interviewed about the incident and was cooperating, but details of how the shooting unfolded were not released.
“We’re investigating it as a home invasion or a robbery,” Sanders said. “We’re not sure what the circumstances were.”
Sanders said police were told a third person might have been involved and they were still investigating that on Sunday evening.
Names of the victim and the homeowner were not released. No other injuries were reported.
A large crowd of onlookers gathered after the shootings. Police blocked off the street so that people couldn’t go to the area of the shooting. The crowd included acquaintances and family members of both the homeowner and the victims, but none were commenting. Additional police cars were sent to the scene to maintain calm after several people in the crowd became agitated in trying to get information on the victims.
Police are calling the deaths the city’s 19th and 20th homicides of the year. Last year at this time there had been 27.