SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. -- A man was shot and killed outside a home near Altamonte Springs early Friday morning. Deputies say he was trying to break into a home on S. Magnolia Avenue when someone inside shot him.

Investigators say at approximately 4:00am on Friday, a woman was awakened by a loud, pounding sound coming from the front door of her home. She woke up her husband to let him know what she heard and asked him to go check on what was happening.

"Yes someone's just tried to break down my front door," said the caller to the 911 dispatcher.

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VIDEO REPORT: Man Shot Dead After Trying To Break Into Home
911 CALL: 911 Call By Wife After Husband Shoots Intruder

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The husband armed himself before heading to the front door to investigate the noise. When he arrived at the door he opened it and there was a masked man standing right in front of him. He shot the masked man in the chest, killing 21-year-old Donald Salaam instantly, police say.

Wife: "They're in the backyard.

911: "They're in your backyard now?"

Wife: "Yes. They're running. They tried to break down my front door."

Husband: "The guy is shot."

911: "What did he say?"

Husband: "I fired a shot."

Wife: "He fired a shot."

Deputies arrived at the scene shortly after. They set up a mobile command unit at the scene and were investigating the incident.

Tears were hard to hold back for the shooter's family members as they rushed to check on their loved ones.

"I hate it went down like this, but he was trying to protect his family," said the shooter's aunt Minie Gamble.

"Think about it he could be dead right now and the other guy could be running the street," said the shooter's brother Jonathan Pace.

Investigators say, at this point, the shooting appears to be justified. They are still trying to determine if the masked man was armed and whether or not he was acting alone.

"At this point in time, and it's very early on in this investigation to say, but from all appearances, when we have footprints on the front door, we have a bad guy with a ski mask on and no reasonable explanation for why he's here, so with the Castle Doctorine [the] homeowner did not have an obligation to retreat," said Lt. James Clark, Seminole County Sheriff's Department. "Our homeowner does have an obligation to protect his property."

Stay tuned to Eyewitness News and WFTV.com as more details become available in this developing story.