Police say two heavily armed men fatally shot a homeowner as he tried to protect his daughter during a home invasion.

The incident happened late Tuesday night in Miami. The father, identified as Maurice Harris, 36, got into a struggle with the suspects when they tried to gain entry into his 11-year-old daughter's bedroom, police told FoxNews.com. The father was fatally shot in the struggle.

There were no other reports of injuries. The suspects were described as black males.

Miami police spokeswoman Kenia Reyes said it appears the men were trying to rob the home.

"We call these two men beasts. These men are beasts," Reyes told the Miami Herald. "They storm inside the house. A little girl was asleep when she was surprised by the gunfire. The father was just trying to protect her."

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Annie Streeter, the victim's mother-in-law, said the men held Harris' wife at gunpoint during the invasion. Relatives said that's when Harris fought back and kept the intruders from entering the room of his 11-year-old daughter.

"One of the guys tried to get to his daughter's room, he jumped up and they were fighting back and forth," Streeter told WSVN.com. "I guess that's when the gun went off."

Neighbors are hailing Harris a hero. "Unfortunately, he died but he's super dad," Terry Jones told the station. "I hope I have that much courage if something like that would've happened to me."



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The Associated Press contributed to this report