HARRISBURG -- A Delaware man was killed with his own gun after a botched attempt to invade a Steelton home.

The fatal shooting started as a John Doe case, with the victims saying they did not know the man or his accomplice, Dauphin County Coroner Graham Hetrick said Tuesday afternoon.

While the coroner's office has since identified the man killed in the incident, Hetrick said he is withholding the name to allow the man's wife to discuss the death with the couple's young children in Wilmington.

Hetrick described him as "a black male that is not really from this area" and estimated him to be in his mid-30s. He had suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the body in a death that Hetrick ruled a homicide.

Police have said they have not filed charges in the Lincoln Street shooting because it appears that shots were fired in self-defense. Hetrick echoed the belief.

"I'd like to be clear the gunshot wounds were in an effort for the homeowner to stop the home invasion," he said. "That does seem to be consistent right now with what we found in autopsy."

The coroner's office traced the angles of bullet holes in the Delaware man's clothing to add to information gathered at the scene, such as how the events appeared to have unfolded.

"When you add that with testimony of the witnesses and that type of thing, you can come to the conclusion that this was a reaction to him being tied to the chair and being able to escape and trying to disarm the perpetrator," Hetrick said, adding that investigators will also look at DNA and blood patterns.

According to police, a 25-year-old man who lives at the house and a 38-year-old woman were approached by two men pointing guns at them when they arrived home just before midnight on Sunday.

Hetrick said the assailants had been dressed like police at the time of the incident, and Steelton police Chief John King said they placed the victims' hands in zip ties before forcing them into the residence.

The male victim was able to break his hands free, grab one of the assailants' guns and fire several shots during the struggle.

"It's a powerful thing to bum-rush somebody that has a gun in their hands, but if you're in the process of assuming that the perpetrator might not let you live anyway, you may as well," Hetrick said.

Hetrick declined to comment on how many shots were fired at the Delaware man, but noted that all of the "medium caliber" rounds were collected from the body, the gunshot wounds were spread across the body, and two of the shots would have caused death instantaneously, striking the man in the head. He was pronounced dead at the hospital, and the other assailant remains at large.

The male victim was also shot during the incident, but he was treated for non-life-threatening wounds to the arm and leg, King said.

King said the couple appeared to be targeted, but he declined to comment why. Police were left with little at the scene to suggest motive, as no drugs or evidence of drug activity were found in the home. The assailants also did not try to rob their victims.

It is unclear if the second assailant "caught any of the gunfire or not," Hetrick said, adding that it is still early into the police investigation.

Neighbors said they were shocked to learn of the attack and described the neighborhood as quiet. Borough Councilwoman Denae House also expressed surprise.

"Lincoln Street is the heart of Steelton. It's very, very shocking," House told PennLive following the incident on Monday. "I've been here for 26 years. We don't have home invasions like this."

Hetrick said people should discuss things like home invasion and home security with family members, even though it "sounds unbelievable and probably improbable."

"But, so does fire," he said.