An Australian father living in Texas has been shot dead by home intruders, years after he moved to the US to chase his dreams of playing in the NFL.
Brenton Estorffe, 29, woke to the sound of a window breaking at the back of his Fort Bend County home at around midnight on Wednesday local time.
His American wife and their two children, aged one and three, were in the house at the time.
Mr Estorffe jumped out of bed and confronted the two intruders who broke in through a glass door, according to ABC 13.
Shots rang out and the young father was left lying dead on the ground.
The robbers fled the scene before Mr Estorffe’s wife made a desperate call to 911 at 12.03am to report the intruders who killed her husband.
Brenton Estorffe, 29, was killed by two home invaders on Wednesday night, while his wife Angeleanna and their two children, aged one and three, were in the house
In 2015 Mr Estorffe met the love of his life Angeleanna. The couple married and moved to the small town of Katy, west of Houston. They have two kids together
A neighbour ran into the home in a bid to resuscitate the young father, but it was too late to save him.
Mrs Estorffe told police she saw the two intruders. Authorities are now working to get a description of them.
Police also canvassed the neighbourhood and checked for any CCTV footage that may have captured them.
They are looking into leads a car was seen speeding off in the area after the shooting.
‘We do have individuals who say they saw a car parked nearby and then after those shots the car speeds off,’ Fort Bend Sheriff Troy Nehls said.
It isn’t known if the killing was random or a targeted attack.
Sheriff Nehls said the incident ‘happened so quickly.’
‘You hear the glass breakage. You’re startled, you get out of bed. And then, within just a few seconds or so, there’s gunfire,’ Fort Bend Sheriff Troy Nehls said.
The robbers fled the scene before Mr Estorffe’s wife made a desperate call to 911 to report the intruders who killed her husband
Police are looking into leads that a car was seen speeding off in the area after the shooting. Pictured: the street the Estorffe family live on in Fort Bend County, Texas
‘It’s sad, sad. We have a homeowner here in Fort Bend County who’s no longer with us. A father of two small children, breaks your heart.
‘Pray for this young wife and her two small children because they are without their father. He was there to protect his family.’
Mr Estorffe, a personal trainer from Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast, moved to the US to follow his dreams of playing in the NFL.
He played one season of college football for Southern Virginia University in 2012.
In a university article published that year, Mr Estorffe spoke of his pride in playing for the football team.
‘It hasn’t completely set in that I have one more game to play in my collegiate career, but I feel fortunate to have been associated with such a great group of individuals over the past two years,’ he wrote.
Mr Estorffe studied a finance degree at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas – just an hour’s drive from where he would be shot dead years later.
In 2015 his career plans changed when he met his future wife.
The couple married and settled down in the small town of Katy, west of Houston. Mr Estorffe got a job as an assistant manager with Enterprise rent-a car.
The family’s neighbour Kimberly Patel told local TV station KHOU that she recently met them for the first time, and described Mr Estorffe as a lovely person.
‘I can’t even imagine what the wife is going though right now,’ she said.
Ms Patel said crimes happen from time to time in the area, but the fatal shooting came as a surprise to her.
‘We’ve left our doors unlocked because we feel this is such a quiet neighbourhood. So it’s pretty shocking to be honest,’ she said.
A neighbour said she recently met the family for the first time, and described Mr Estorffe as a lovely person