A North Bend family, defending themselves from the second home invasion attack in 12 hours, stabbed and killed an intruder in their home in the 10100 block of 420th Avenue Southeast early Monday morning. The family, a husband, wife and infant, were not reported to have any significant physical injuries.

Sheriff’s deputies are investigating the incident, said Sheriff’s spokesperson Cindi West, and whether the intruder is the same man who broke into the home around 1:10 p.m. Sunday.

“The family does not appear to know the suspect,” West said in a phone call Monday morning.

In the first intrusion, Sunday afternoon, West said, a man entered the home through an unlocked back door. The wife, her mother-in-law, and the baby were in the house when the intruder hit the wife, stole some money from the house, and fled. Deputies searched the area with dogs but were unable to locate the suspect.

Roughly 12 hours later, 1:40 a.m., deputies were called to the same home for another home invasion.

West said the husband and wife were asleep, but heard their dogs barking, and when the husband got up to let the dogs out, he met the intruder.

“The husband and the intruder got into a physical fight,” West said, and the wife also joined in. During the struggle, one of the residents grabbed a knife from the kitchen and stabbed the intruder, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

West did not believe that any charges would result from the man’s death, but could not say for certain. “There’s no indication that the homeowners were doing anything but protecting themselves,” she said.

Deputies searched the house and discovered several screens had been removed from windows, but it’s not clear how the intruder gained entry.