Homeowner kills invader disguised as CenterPoint employee

Here's a new home-invasion technique: Early Wednesday morning, a fake CenterPoint gas man showed up at a house and ended up in a gunfight with the homeowner. It happened in northwest Houston, in the 3300 block of Breckenridge, at about 1 a.m. when a man wearing a CenterPoint shirt knocked on the door of Oscar Mitchell's house and told Mitchell there was a gas leak. Only problem: Neither Mitchell nor any of his neighbors have gas connections. So the suspect activated his Plan B, which involved bringing in an accomplice and forcing their way into the house. The second man shot Mitchell, and Mitchell shot the erstwhile CenterPoint employee.

"I was mad. Because I wasn't bothering nobody, so why do you want to bother me, you know?" asked Mitchell.

That's right. The second man, who shot Mitchell, ended up getting away, while the fake CenterPoint guy died in the street. The gunfire concerned Mitchell's neighbors, who said they were afraid to leave their houses — we don't blame them. "I went to the window, and I saw the body lying in the street," neighbor Lauren Williams told KPRC. "At that time, I called Oscar just to see if he was OK and let him know, 'hey, there's a body out in front of your home.'"

Police are still looking for the suspect who got away, and there's no word on why they targeted Mitchell's house. Mitchell won't face charges for his part in the shooting.