Teenager Killed Trying to Enter Her Own House: Police

Tragedy in Colorado: A man shot and killed his stepdaughter before dawn today, probably mistaking her for a burglar as she sneaked back into the house, the Colorado Springs Gazette reports. "The initial call came in as a burglary-in-progress," a police spokesman said. Officers found the unidentified 14-year-old with a chest wound and had her taken to the hospital, where she died. Police scanner traffic suggests that the girl had entered through the window, KOAA reports.

A neighbor in the quiet suburban neighborhood said three gunshots rang out in the early hours. "I heard three bangs," she told KRDO. "I assumed it was someone hitting on a car or a garage door or something like that." No arrests have been made, and police say they don't plan to release the victim's or the stepfather's names. "I never met them in person, but I've seen them together: the dad, the mom, the older girl and two younger girls," said another neighbor. "I would never imagine something like this would happen here." (More fatal shooting stories.)