[rmh47]

The homeowner drew his own hand gun, pointed it at the suspect and fired.

Both got into a car and fled leaving their guns behind.

Now, why would you want to get into a car with a robber that you just shot? And why would you leave your gun behind?

Can no one write a coherent story anymore?

[House Atreides]

Because it’s too difficult to write “Both suspects got into...” when you can simply write “Both got into....”? I agree with you that this is simply poor writing.

Brevity at the expense of clarity—a very common behavior among our professional “writers” now.