Williamson County Sheriff’s deputies searched for more than five hours for three men suspected of car break-ins in the Cat Hollow community.

The manhunt started early Thursday morning near Highway 620 and O'Connor Drive and included vehicle patrol, dogs and helicopters.

It was around 1:30 a.m. when a resident in Cat Hollow called 911 reporting what sounded like gunfire. It turned out to be someone breaking into vehicles.

A Williamson County deputy caught the group in the act. Then, sheriff’s officials say, the three men took off in their own vehicle through the neighborhood. The pursuit was short and ended when the car burglary suspects crashed into two vehicles parked in the driveway of one of the homes in Cat Hollow. That's when the deputy says the group got out and ran.

That's also when the manhunt became more intense. Once the three got out of sight of the deputy, more calls started going out to 911 from residents in Cat Hollow, reporting that someone was trying to break into their home. Deputies searched through approximately 40 homes to make sure the men weren't hiding inside.

“Our fear was that they possibly could have gotten into someone’s home and that’s why the searches were conducted of the 40 plus homes. Luckily out of the 40 plus homes that we searched, they were not,” said John Foster of the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff's office has linked the three suspects to a car break-in on Monday where a gun was taken from a vehicle. They fear the group is armed. Many neighbors stayed locked inside watching the manhunt unfold.

“We were up all night. We don't usually have things like this happen in this part of the neighborhood,” said resident Stuart Fontenot.

Sheriff's officials called off the man hunt around 7:00 Thursday morning, but are still asking anyone to immediately call 9-1-1 if they see or hear anything suspicious.

“They may very well be out of this area, but we want to do everything we can to determine if they are or if they’re not,” said Foster.

Residents are still urged to take safety precautions.