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MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Mooresville police are trying to figure out who shot a father of three in his own home and why.
State and local investigators will spend several days going through every inch of the house in hope of finding something that could answer some of their questions. Friends and neighbors there say this family spent their lives serving others and can't imagine why anyone would break into their home and shoot them.
Just after midnight on Tuesday, Angel Stewart ran to her neighbor's home for help.
The neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said, "The wife was screaming that she had gotten shot. She got shot in the arm two times. To call 911 and her husband was struggling with the intruder I guess."
Family friend Eric Starr said, "As she was grabbing the baby and running, Matt went after the guy and from what I understand they shot him in the heart."
Angel Stewart told police she woke up in bed and was shot in the arm by an intruder. When police arrived they found her husband, 31-year-old Matthew Stewart, dead in his upstairs bathroom.
Capt. Thomas Thompson with the Mooresville Police Department said investigators have few leads, if any.
"Right now we just have nothing solid to go on," Thompson said. "This is not the type of typical crime that we have in Mooresville and especially not in this neighborhood."
Investigators say there was no sign of forced entry, and they can't tell if anything was missing from the home.
Right now, investigators are just as baffled as neighbors.
"We just couldn't believe it," said Starr. "It just doesn't seem real."
One thing neighbors do know is that Matthew Stewart, who coached soccer and worked as a nurse at Lake Norman Regional Medical Center, spent his last moments doing what he's always done: helping others.
Starr said Stewart was "protecting his family."
Angel Stewart was treated and released from a hospital. On Tuesday evening she was with her three children, who were not injured during the attack.
Police say it will be several days before anyone will be allowed inside the home. They are waiting for an explosive sniffing dog to return from training in Alabama. The dog, they hope, will be able to find more bullet casings and give investigators more clues as to who could have done this.
