A maintenance worker was tragically shot dead on Christmas Eve after a resident of the building he was working on mistook him for a burglar.
Family man Cesare Montelongo, 53, from Texas, was gunned down in an awful case of mistaken identity while checking pipes at the Clayton Point Apartments in Grand Prairie, US.
The owner of the apartment spotted him on the balcony and thought he was trying to burglarise his home.
Texan TV station Fox 4 reported that Montelongo had been standing on the balcony at around 6pm when the resident grabbed a gun and shot the innocent victim through the window.
Officers arriving at the scene found the tragic sight of Montelongo with a gunshot wound, bleeding out on the ground.
Paramedics rushed him to hospital but despite their best efforts he couldn't be saved.
Detectives say Montelongo was called out to check broken and pipes after waterlines ruptured due to the freezing weather.
No arrests have as yet been made in relation to the shooting with the resident currently cooperating with police, the Daily Star reports.
The case is, however, still under investigation and it will be referred by Grand Prairie Police to the Tarrant County grand jury for review.
Family man Montelongo is survived by his wife and five sons, with this Christmas marking 29 years since his wedding, according to a GoFundMe page set up by his niece Kimberley Montelongo.
She wrote: "My uncle was murdered Christmas Eve in an act of senseless violence while at his place of employment. Today, on what was supposed to be his 29th marriage anniversary, he is being grieved by his 5 sons and loving wife.
"My uncle was a loving and hardworking man who gave his entire life for his family. His devotion to the Lord gave him strength."
Earlier this year, a 'beautiful' young woman was shot dead in a tragic case of mistaken identity, just seven years after her brother was killed in similar circumstances.
Ashley Dale, 28, was not the 'intended target' when she was fatally gunned down in a Liverpool garden, shortly after midnight on Sunday, August 21.
Attackers barged through her front door, and "indiscriminately" fired at Ashley on multiple occasions, the police revealed.
Merseyside Police were treating the shooting as a targeted attack, but said Knowsley Council worker Ashley was not the person they were trying to hit.
Paramedics rushed to save her but she was pronounced dead a short while later in hospital.
