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Dallas Homeowner Fights Off Home Invasion

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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Police need the public's help in catching a team of armed burglars that might have pulled off a home invasion if not for a quick-thinking homeowner.

Waking up to see on your surveillance monitor a man at your front door with a rifle is enough to rattle anyone, but a day later Terry Morgan is surprisingly calm about what he's been through.

"I'm always prepared in the back of my mind that I may have to do something like that, and I watch a lot of war movies as well, and I was just ready for them," said Morgan.

It was the sound of a woman knocking on his door just before 5:00 a.m. Saturday morning that got Morgan out of bed.

He grabbed his shotgun and crouched in his living room where he could watch both his security monitor and the door men were trying to break open.

"I know if they get in this house, I might not live to see that sun coming up in a few hours, so immediately I thought about survival," said Morgan.

As he watched them struggle with a crowbar, Morgan waited to fire on anything that came through the door.

"He was aiming pretty low, so I had to be lower than him, so I just wanted to make sure when he got the door in that I got the first shot out," said Morgan.

After spotting the security camera, the burglars moved around the side, so Morgan went to his window for a better look.

He thinks that's when they first heard him inside the home and opened fire. Morgan waited for the right moment to fire back.

"They're coming like that because they don't care, so we have to stay ready as well," said Morgan.

Apparently, no one was hit.

Police said the suspects used a getaway car to make their escape from the home on Lea Crest Drive.

Morgan credits his surveillance system as much as his weapon for saving his life and offering the best chance of catching the criminals.

"I am happy because at the end of the day the surveillance is going to allow them to be put on the local news stations. They're being hunted down like fugitives right now," said Morgan.

Investigators said there are more suspects in addition to the three people seen on camera, and are asking anyone that has any information about this crime to contact Dallas police.

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