Gadsden police say a 17-year-old was shot to death Monday following an apparent home invasion, rape and robbery.

Capt. Bobby Jackson said the sequence of events began about 3 a.m. Monday. Three men, at least one with a handgun, committed a home invasion robbery in the 2100 block of Norris Avenue.

The resident, a 37-year-old woman, told police three men kicked in the front door, awakening her. One of the men came into her bedroom, put a gun to her head and raped her while the other two ransacked the home.

The two men left, but the robber assaulting her began beating her in the head with the gun and demanding money. The woman told her attacker that a neighbor down the street kept all her money. The robber then forced the woman down the street to the neighbor's home on South 21st Street, the woman told police.

Once they walked there, the woman knocked and yelled for the neighbor's attention, telling him she was being attacked. The neighbor, a 59-year-old man, looked out the window and called 911 to report a crime. The gunman yelled for the neighbor to get off the phone, shooting twice into the air. He then aimed his gun at the neighbor.

The neighbor fired one round at the offender, hitting him in the chest. The gunman ran a short distance, collapsed and died.

Jackson said the woman was taken to a hospital for treatment, while the neighbor was questioned and released. Police did not release the dead man's name immediately.

Jackson said police are still investigating. Anyone with additional information is asked to call the Detective Division at

(256) 549-4630.