'Kill me, kill me': Homeowner says intruder stabbed himself, asked to die

HOUSTON – Houston police said a 45-year-old man accused of breaking into a home is dead after the homeowner shot him, and the suspect stabbed himself.

Around 2:40 a.m. Sunday, at a residence in the 13100 block of North Bellaire Estates Drive, police said they were called after a suspected intruder broke into the home.

“This guy broke in from the window through the backyard, he came inside the house, he went upstairs to my daughter’s room,” said the wife of the homeowner.

READ: Home invasion suspect dead after being shot by homeowner, stabbing self, police say

She did not want to share her identity.

She said the family's Ring motion sensor alerted them someone was in the house. That’s when her husband woke up and went into their daughter’s room.

“My husband went into the room and the guy did not see my husband because my husband was behind him,” the wife said.

Houston police said the suspect was armed with a gun, but the homeowner was able to wrestle it away from him.

“He (my husband) took away the gun, my daughter was behind my husband, my husband was protecting my daughter, my husband was telling him, ‘Get out, get out’ what are you doing here, ‘get out, get out,'” explained the wife. “So the guy was still coming out at my husband so my husband had to shoot him.”

The wife said she called her neighbor for help.

The neighbor, who did not want to go on camera, said he helped get the children to his home across the street for safety.

The wife of the homeowner said they thought the suspected intruder left, but he ran downstairs into the kitchen, grabbed a knife and started stabbing himself.

According to the neighbor, he witnessed the man use a butcher knife to stab himself in the chest. He then begged for someone to shoot him in the head and kill him.

“He started stabbing himself, stabbing himself and then until the cops came and they took him,” explained the wife. “He was just telling him, ‘Kill me, kill me,’ I guess he was telling the neighbor too, 'shoot me in the head, shoot me in the head, kill me, kill me.'”

It could have happened to anyone, I don’t know why it happened to us, but I’m just glad my kids are safe and everybody is safe. He (the suspect) passed away, but I mean, we had to do what we had to do to protect our family.”

Neighbors who live in the small neighborhood said it’s usually quiet.

It’s unclear how the stranger got into the gated community made up of less than 100 homes. Some neighbors speculate a broken fence is possibly how he got inside.

The 45-year-old man’s identity and an official cause of death are currently pending verification by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.

Houston police said the case will be referred to a Harris County grand jury.