A woman and her daughter were shot to death Sunday morning at a west Houston apartment complex, and the man suspected of the shooting was wounded by officers, Houston police said.
The incident happened around 9.15 a.m. in the 1000 block of East Tri Oaks Lane, near the Katy Freeway feeder lane.
According to Houston assistant police Chief Yasar Bashir, officers were responding to a complaint about an attack in progress. On arrival, they spotted a woman enter and knock on the apartment door. She was then shot point-blank when the door opened before the gunman began firing at police.
Officers returned fire, striking the man multiple times before he retreated inside the apartment where he remained for some time before voluntarily giving up.
The suspect was taken into custody and transported to a hospital where he was stable.
The woman died on the spot
According to Bashir, SWAT troops discovered the body of another shooting victim, a woman in her 30s, during a raid in the flat. He said that the victim inside the residence was the suspected shooter’s live-in lover. The woman who was shot outside, believed to be in her 60s, was the woman’s mother, the official added.
Authorities said that initial claims calling the incident a “home invasion” were incorrect.
According to Isabel Martinez of the Houston Area Women’s center, the organization has witnessed a steady increase in domestic abuse cases and victims who say they feel “trapped” since the pandemic began in March 2020.
The victims say it’s tough to get help when their accused abuser lives with them.
“I want folks who are in these situations to know that they are not alone,” Martinez said, adding: “There are resources at your disposal. Some people will believe them. If they want to figure out how to go to a safe environment, we can surely assist them in a brainstorm. What does that imply? What are some ideas we have? We talk about it the most on our hotline. The various sorts of safety, financial safety, emotional safety, and physical safety.”
