Lubbock police believe 55-year-old Debbie Hill was attacked and shot in the leg when she accidentally interrupted an apparent burglary in progress inside her Southwest Lubbock home during the lunch hour Tuesday.

Hill was screaming as emergency personnel took her on a stretcher from her home in the 5900 block of 72nd Street.

Her attackers were still on the loose Tuesday following the 11 a.m. shooting. They were described as two young Hispanic males wearing black ski masks and hoodies, according to police.

Authorities were still piecing together the details of what occurred, but investigators believed the two assailants were strangers to Hill.

“”As she was entering the house, she was accosted,”” Police Sgt. Jonathan Stewart said.

Hill was taken to University Medical Center for treatment, but her injuries were not considered life threatening. She remained hospitalized in serious condition on Tuesday night, according to a hospital official.

Numerous officers and crime scene technicians remained on the scene for more than an hour as neighbors expressed shock over what happened on their quiet block not known for crime.

“”We’ve never had anything like this before,”” said Travis Funk, a neighbor who lives down the street. “”It’s a good neighborhood.””

Police on Tuesday still didn’t know exactly why the men were inside the home, but believed they could’ve been in the process of burglarizing the residence when Hill pulled up in her driveway.

Hill was able to tell officers that two men in ski masks attacked her inside her garage. A struggle ensued. Police found Hill with a gunshot wound in a room.

On Tuesday afternoon, the garage door remained open and an SUV was parked in the driveway.

Stewart said the victim apparently made the 911 call while the men were still inside the home. When the dispatcher answered the 911 call at 11:03 a.m., all that could be heard was a woman crying and screaming, according to call sheet records. She screamed: “”Get out of my house”” and “”Get away from me.””

The dispatcher then noted she heard more screaming but couldn’t understand the woman, though she noted that somebody had possibly broken into the caller’s house. The call was disconnected at 11:06 a.m. Dispatchers called for EMS.

After several attempts to reach the woman again, the dispatcher was able to make contact at 11:09 a.m. Officers arrived on the scene at 11:11 a.m. to discover the victim had been shot. It was unclear exactly when she’d been shot. She didn’t tell dispatchers she had been shot, and shots weren’t heard over the recording.

But Hill apparently called her sister after dialing 911.

Emergency officials received a call a short time later from the victim’s sister, who told operators Hill had called her screaming and told her a Hispanic male had shot her, according to call sheet records.

Police didn’t confirm the condition of the home — whether it had been ransacked, whether anything had possibly been stolen and whether there were signs of forced entry.

Detectives were apparently investigating whether the shooting was related to a call the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office received Tuesday morning.

County officers told police they received a call at about 10:30 a.m. in Shallowater about two Hispanic males looking into windows and trying to open doors, according to police call sheet records. The suspect vehicle involved in that case was a silver extended cab pickup with Texas tags.

Authorities also had a report of a kicked-in back gate in the 5900 block of 71st Street on Tuesday.

The shooting shook up the neighborhood just off Frankford Avenue.

At least one resident on a nearby street flagged down an officer later in the day to check the house, fearful burglars were inside. Police also checked the house of a neighbor who arrived home while police were still on the scene, the neighbor said.

For Connie Moore, who lives down the street, the shooting brought the reality of crime much closer to her doorstep.

“”I called my husband and asked, ‘Where is the gun?’ “” she said early Tuesday afternoon. “”I’m just shocked that a shooting like that happened in this neighborhood. It’s scary.””

She said she will definitely be more aware of her surroundings from now on, especially while entering her home.

Although residents said crime is uncommon in the neighborhood, police reports indicate several burglaries in that area over the past month.

In the area between Iola and Frankford avenues and Spur 327 and 82nd Street, there were seven reports of car break-ins and two house burglaries in March, according to an A-J analysis of police data.

In the immediate area around the 5900 block of 72nd Street where the shooting occurred, there were three car burglaries and one house burglary last month.

The car burglaries were reported in the 6000 block of 72nd Street, 5800 block of 73rd Street and 6000 block of 74th Street in early March, according to police records. A house burglary was reported in the 6000 block of 74th Street on March 11.

Stewart said police didn’t have any reports Tuesday of more burglaries in that area by the afternoon hours.

The neighborhood was not the only area hit by burglars last month.

Burglaries affected just about every area of Lubbock. There were 380 reports of car and house burglaries locally in March, according to police records.

Authorities say house burglaries most commonly occur during daytime hours, when many residents are away from home for work.

Police urge residents to always report suspicious activity in their neighborhoods.