An accused burglar who was shot by a Blue Mound homeowner remained hospitalized this morning, police said.

John Pierson, 25, was recovering from abdominal surgery and his condition was improving, Blue Mound police Lt. Thomas Cain said.

Mr. Pierson is accused of accompanying Dakota Benoit, 20, to invade a Fort Worth home Tuesday evening and a Blue Mound home about an hour later.

Mr. Benoit was fatally shot with his own weapon by the Blue Mound homeowner Wednesday morning in the 600 block of Globe Avenue. Mr. Pierson fled after he was also shot. Later that morning, authorities found him about a mile away, trying to clean himself in a fountain.

In both cases, the intruders entered the homes of couples with children. The family was not injured in the Fort Worth incident, but the burglars took the family’s Honday Odyssey van and drove it about two miles to the Blue Mound home.

In the second invasion, mom Kellie Hoehn told her kids to hide in the closet as she and her husband, Keith, struggled to fight off the gunmen. The couple suffered minor injuries during the attack.

John Pierson

It was unlikely that the Hoehns would face criminal charges. Mr. Pierson faces a charge of burglary of habitation with intent to commit another felony.

Authorities said it was not clear why the two couples’ homes were targeted.

Lt. Cain said the men were “on a rampage.” Police believe the men were under the influence at the time.

“I don’t even think they knew where they were. For doing what they did, they had to be outside of their mental capability,” he said.