CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Police say what started as a home invasion ended with one man dead.

It happened at about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday on Jefferson Davis Street in north Charlotte.

The homeowner turned the tables on the men who came to rob him. He disarmed them and shot both of them, sending one to the hospital and the other to the morgue.

 For many residents along the small quiet stretch of Jefferson Davis Street the day began with gunfire.

"I was watching the news watching, the weather because I work on the outside. Around 5:30 I heard a shot," said Alfred Galloway, who has lived in the neighborhood for three months.

Multiple shots were fired inside the home of Riccorian Smith. His cousin, who did not want to be identified, saw the getaway car.

“I saw the car flying down the street. The guy was hanging out like he was trying to pull him in," he said. "I guess that was the other suspect who got shot." 

The cousin ran next door and found Smith sitting on the step.

Anthony Roland

 "He was distraught, shaking because he had been shot, but he didn't know he had been shot."

Police say that two men committed a home invasion. Somehow Smith, who had gotten shot in the leg, managed to fight back.

"The victim was able to wrestle the firearm away from one of the suspects and return fire, striking both suspects," said Capt. Bruce Bellamy with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

His cousin said one of the suspects dropped the gun.

"He said one of the dudes kept hitting him, hitting him in the head, and I guess the last time he hit him he dropped the gun. The whole family is distraught. Everybody is sad because its right here by the holidays."

Police identified the man who died on the scene as 22-year-old Anthony Roland. Roland has a long criminal record with numerous burglary charges.

The other suspect is Patrick Moses. The 23-year-old man is listed in serious but stable condition at Carolinas Medical Center.

Smith is also recovering at the hospital. Police continue to look for the man who drove the getaway car.