A Queensland man has been shot dead in his Texan home during a violent home invasion.
WATCH: Aussie man shot dead protecting family in home invasion
Brenton Estorffe, 29, was sleeping in his home – along with his wife and two young children – when two intruders forced themselves into their house on Wednesday night.
According to reports, the criminals opened fire at Brenton when he confronted them before fleeing the scene.
Local media has reported that neighbours responded to the gunshots, leaving their own homes to check on the family. Local media outlets also reported that neighbours tried to resuscitate to the Australian father of two, however, he sadly passed away.
In a statement, Fort Bend Sheriff Troy Nehls said that the incident happened ‘so quickly’.
“It really happened so quickly.
“You hear the glass breakage. You’re startled, you get out of bed. And then, within just a few seconds or so, there’s gunfire.”
The sheriff continued: “It’s sad. Sad. We have a homeowner here in Fort Bend County who is no longer with us — and the father of two small children. Breaks your heart.”
Local resident Kimberley Patele told TV station KHOU that this level of violence is unusual in their neighbourhood, saying it’s the kind of suburb where people feel safe to leave their doors unlocked.
“We’ve left our doors unlocked because we feel this is such a quiet neighbourhood,” she said.
“It’s pretty shocking, to be honest”.
There have been no reported suspects to date.
The Australian has reported that Mr Estorffe originally moved from his home on the Sunshine Coast to the States, to play NFL at Southern Virginia University in 2012, however, was not reselected.
By 2015, he had married and moved to the small Texan town of Katy to start his family.
Brenton Estorffe is the third Australian to die from gun violence in the United States and Canada in recent years.
In July, Australian Lucas Fowler and his Canadian girlfriend Chynna Deese were found dead on an Alaskan highway after being shot by Canadian teenagers Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky.
Fowler’s father – a senior NSW Police Officer – was left “distraught” by the news of his son’s death, saying in a statement at the time: “It really is the worst ever love story because we now have two young people who had everything ahead of them tragically murdered.”
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