A man knocking on doors in a Houston-area neighborhood was shot and killed by a 14-year-old during a possible attempted break-in, authorities said Thursday. 

The shooting left the man dead in the front yard of a home in the 14400 block of Brownsville Street just before 7 a.m., the Harris County Sheriff's Office said. 

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Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the man was knocking on doors and was, and was possibly attempting to break into the home where he was fatally shot. The teenage boy opened fire from inside the home, he said. 

He fired five to six shots. His parents weren't home at the time, and had just left to drop his siblings off at school.

The man was wearing gloves and had a backpack, authorities said, FOX Houston reported. 

A homeless outreach group said it recognized the man as being homeless in the area.

The teen is cooperating with investigators.