UPDATED: Port Arthur homeowner shoots, kills 1 of 3 robbers holding his family at gunpoint, police say

Published 12:01 am Monday, December 28, 2020

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Just before 11 a.m. Monday, Port Arthur police identified the man killed by a homeowner the night before during a suspected home invasion.

Det. Mike Hebert said the deceased suspect is 27-year-old Terence Ellies.

Justice of the Peace Tom Gilliam has requested an autopsy.

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Police said a Port Arthur homeowner shot and killed Ellies, who was holding his family at gunpoint during a violent home invasion Sunday night.

As of early Monday, the Port Arthur Police Department announced two assailants are on the loose. Descriptions for those suspects have not been released.

According to Sgt. Shannon Meaux and Sgt. Chris Billiot, three armed men forcibly entered a home in the 2500 block of 18th Street shortly before 8:31 p.m. while a female resident was arriving home.

Meaux said the gunmen held the family at gunpoint while demanding property.

At this time, police believe, the 29-year-old male homeowner was in another room and heard what was happening.

“The homeowner fired several shots at the suspect, who was pronounced deceased on scene,” Meaux said. “The other two suspects fled the area before officers arrived.”

Billiot said the initial commotion led to the male resident arming himself with a rifle and confronting the assailants “in protection of his young children.”

The Port Arthur Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division is leading the investigation.