Dad gunned down in Southern California home invasion, 13-year-old son calls 911

Authorities are searching for the man who broke into a Los Angeles-area house and gunned down a father while his wife and son were home, officials said.

The 61-year-old victim was attacked at about 6:26 p.m. Tuesday at his home in Arcadia, about 8 miles east of Pasadena, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office said.

The 13-year-old son and his mother were pulling into their driveway when the intruder "approached them and forced them into the home" where there was a "confrontation" between the intruder and the father, sheriff’s Lt. Steven De Jong told Los Angeles ABC station KABC.

It's not clear if the boy and his mom witnessed the shooting, but De Jong called it a "very frightening situation for the entire family."

The 13-year-old son called 911 to report that his dad was shot by an intruder, De Jong said.

A motive is not known, but De Jong said "it appears that this is possibly personally motivated, from my preliminary inspection of the crime scene."

"This individual that made entry into the house engaged the male victim," he explained. "So it appears that maybe he was the intended target."

A "couple" weapons were recovered at the house, but it's not clear if they belonged to the suspect or the family, he said.

It's possible the dad "armed himself and attempted to defend himself," De Jong said.

No arrests have been made, according to the sheriff's office.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's homicide bureau at 323-890-5500.