Twenty-nine-year-old went to investigate after a window was broken at his house, where his wife and two young children were sleeping

This article is more than 11 months old

This article is more than 11 months old

An Australian living in Texas has been shot dead while protecting his family from intruders who broke into his home.

Brenton Estorffe, 29, reportedly heard a window break at the rear of his house in the town of Katy, near Houston, about midnight on Wednesday. His wife and two children, aged one and three, were sleeping in the house at the time.

The Fort Bend county sheriff, Troy Nehls, said it was believed Estorffe had confronted the intruders and been shot and killed.

The intruders have not been caught. Police investigations are centred around a vehicle seen speeding from the area.

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“It’s sad, sad,” the sheriff told a local TV station, ABC13. “We have a homeowner here in Fort Bend County who’s no longer with us, a father of two small children. He was there to protect his family. It breaks your heart.”

Nehls said the shooting appeared to have happened incredibly quickly.

“You hear the glass breakage,” he said. “You’re startled, you get out of bed. And then, within just a few ­seconds or so, there’s gunfire.”

Police do not believe any valuables were taken from the home.

Erstoffe’s wife, Angeleanna, called 911 to report the home invasion after being woken by the shot. She and her children were not hurt.

Her husband, originally from Mooloolaba on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, reportedly moved to the US in 2011 to play American football and study at South Virginia University.

He had been working for the Enterprise car rental company in Texas.

Erstoffe’s brother Cobin paid tribute on social media to his “best mate, oldest brother, a son, a father, a uncle, a husband and a fucking HERO”.

“Still not real brother,” he wrote. “Life will never ever be the same without you. Hands down you are my hero the way you stood up for your family. Can only dream to be a little bit like you. Thanks for the amazing times we had together. Miss you and love you so much Brenton.”

Estorffe is the third Australian to be shot and killed in North America in just over two years. In July a Sydney man, Lucas Fowler, and his US girlfriend, Chynna Deese, were shot dead on a remote highway in northern British Columbia, Canada. Their teenaged killers were later found dead thousands of kilometres away, apparently having taken their own lives.

In July 2017 an Australian woman, Justine Damond, was shot dead by a Minneapolis police department officer, Mohamed Noor, after she called 911 to report a suspected assault. Noor was convicted of third-degree murder and manslaughter and sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison.



