We got the first crackle of news this morning at 4:00am on our police scanners - a home invasion robbery in Tulsa.

That quickly became a home invasion murder.

From our KRMG 24-Hour NewsCenter:

Tulsa police are investigating a home invasion homicide. Police say a man broke into a couple's home near 38-hundred South Union about four Wednesday morning and demanded money.

Police say there was a struggle with a gun that belonged to the homeowner. During the struggle, the woman was reportedly shot and killed. The resident was shot in the hand. Police say the suspect got away in an off-white 90's mid-size S-U-V.

Police are looking for a dark-complected white male about 20 who was wearing a dark beanie. Police are investigating if the man who entered the home knew the victims.

This is the latest in a series of home invasion crimes in recent months in Tulsa. As with any crime of this type, it routinely takes the investigators days/weeks/months to sort out the facts.

Answers that are always important to me:

• Is this crime random or did the victims know the suspect?
• If this crime is random, what weakness did the suspects exploit to commit this crime?
• What can we all do to make sure we mitigate the same weakness in our homes to prevent ourselves from being victimized in the same manner?

The greater likelihood is that there is familiarity in this crime - that somehow, someway, the victims knew the intruder(s). Crime statistics have long supported the greater likelihood of familiar crime versus truly random crimes.

Of course, it's very important to note that a familiarity with the criminal does not in any way diminish the magnitude of the crime or the loss of a family member. Nor does it decrease the vigor for which the police will hunt down the suspect and the DA should prosecute.

But it does telegraph to the rest of the community whether or not we have a cold-blooded murder in our community and that our lives can be largely impacted by the relationships in which we engage.