Shots fired after home invasion near Donna

NEAR DONNA — Three men looking for guns, money and drugs stormed a home Wednesday evening as the family living there was eating dinner, sheriff’s deputies said.

Armed with guns and clad in body armor, the men kicked in the door to the mobile home about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, said Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño. A man and his wife were eating dinner with their children and a neighbor at the time.

The men made off with a .22-caliber rifle and fled the scene in a Toyota Camry and a dark-colored Chevrolet Tahoe, the sheriff said.

The homeowner fired off at least nine shots from a .22-caliber pistol as the robbers fled, possibly hitting one of their vehicles at least three times.

“We believe that the home invaders actually hit the house thinking it was somebody else’s,” Treviño said.

Neighbors told investigators the home may have been targeted because a man visiting the family Wednesday night was the victim in a home invasion that went unreported to deputies within the last month.

No injuries were reported in connection with the Wednesday home invasion or the subsequent gunfire, Treviño said. Authorities do not anticipate any criminal charges against the homeowner for firing at the robbers — nor do they believe the family has criminal connections.

“We have no reason to believe whatsoever that (the husband or wife) is involved in anything illicit,” the sheriff said.

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Jared Taylor covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4439.