Police: Man killed in home invasion shootout

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - A man is dead and another in the hospital after they exchanged gunfire in a bizarre home invasion in southwest Atlanta Monday afternoon.

According to the Atlanta Police Department, officers responded to a report of a person shot at a home at the corner of Ira Street SW and Bass Street SW at around 1:45 p.m.  When police arrived, they found two men with gunshot wounds, one of them was deceased.

The man who lives at the home survived and told investigators that he was upstairs when he heard a noise in the house.  He went downstairs to investigate and found the other man had broken in through the front door.  That was when police said the two men opened fire on one another. 

Investigators said the suspect broke into the home to assault the man who lives there. 

"It does appear that the two had some sort of knowledge of each other," said Atlanta Police Homicide Lt. Andrea Webster.  "It was not a random incident.  It appears that they knew each other." 

Officers have not released the names of either of the men involved, but said the deceased suspect is about 40 years old.  The investigation remains open, but police believe the shooting was a case of self-defense.