A chaotic predawn confrontation at an Antioch home where marijuana was being grown ended Tuesday morning with a 15-year-old home-invasion suspect dead and the couple who live there critically wounded by gunfire, police said.

The triple shooting happened at 4:30 a.m. in a four-bedroom home on the 1300 block of Aster Drive occupied by a man and woman and their two small children, said Antioch police Capt. Allan Cantando. Two rooms contained young marijuana plants, Cantando said.

The residents called 911, saying they had been awakened by a group of teenagers breaking into their one-story home through a rear window. During a confrontation, the homeowners, a 35-year-old male and his wife, were shot numerous times, police said. The woman was shot as she ran down a hallway, authorities said.

15-year-old killed

The male homeowner shot and killed a 15-year-old suspect and held a 17-year-old suspect at gunpoint until police arrived, Cantando said. It wasn't clear whether he used his own gun or had wrestled a gun away from one of the suspects.

The identities of the two teens and the homeowners were not released.

Antioch and Pittsburg police, along with Contra Costa County sheriff's deputies, K-9 units and the California Highway Patrol, were searching for the third assailant, who escaped through the rear window. Authorities say he may have been injured because a blood trail was found immediately outside.

The residents were airlifted to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, where they were listed in critical condition, said Sgt. Diane Aguinaga.

Their two children, a 10-month-old girl and 2-year-old boy, were unhurt and are now in the custody of their grandmother, police said.

Police said they were investigating whether the youths were after the marijuana or money generated from the plants and whether the marijuana was being grown for medical reasons.

"Indoor marijuana grows are getting more common," Cantando said, but the operation at the house where the shooting occurred "was not on our radar."

2007 home invasion

The shooting comes three years after a deadly robbery in Pittsburg of a home filled with marijuana and owned by PC World magazine Editor Rex Farrance. Farrance, 59, was shot and killed in the January 2007 home-invasion robbery and his wife was pistol-whipped. Three men were convicted in the case.

Farrance's family has said that the men decided to target the home after learning from his son's friend that marijuana was grown in the home and money would be readily available.

Tuesday's slaying in Antioch frazzled residents in a neighborhood that has signs declaring it a "Drug Free Zone."

Brian Schmid, 27, who lives on adjacent West 18th Street, said he frequently smelled marijuana wafting from the home when he parked his car, but never imagined that violence could erupt.

"I pretty much knew it was coming from there," Schmid said. "It's a tragedy. I just don't see how something like marijuana could be worth someone's life. It's not worth it."

Danielle Solorio, 33, who also lives on West 18th, said other homes in the neighborhood have been targeted by burglars.

"I'm terrified," Solorio said. "I have two small children in my house. At first I was just thinking it was a drug deal gone bad - that sucks, but when it's an invasion and killing, it's very scary. I want out."