Just for this weekend, Houston officers recorded seven deaths and more than a dozen injuries in the area. All are related to Houston-area shootings.
Authorities in the Houston area continue to see an increase in violent crimes. The deadly shootings even continued on Monday this week.
A Scattering Of Shootings
The bulk of the recorded deaths in the Houston area included five people from different incidents of shootings and stabbings. According to Houston Chronicle, the crimes started to happen on Friday and continued through Monday morning.
Monday’s two deaths were separate incidents, Houston police reported. Although independent from each other, both were related to domestic violence. One happened at around 1 P.M. when a man shot and killed a relative, and the other involved a woman shooting another family member to death.
Sunday’s Shootings Detailed
An off-duty officer heard a gunshot around 12:40 A.M. The officer then found a woman named Mary Jane Gonzales, 49, dead outside a bank in the 2900 block of Woodridge Drive. The officer tried to chase a suspect but failed to catch the person.
Hours later, a woman told police she accidentally stabbed another person in the 7400 block of Calhoun Road in the Brookhaven area. At 1 P.M., a man shot someone during a fight that broke out in the 6400 block of Bankside Drive in southwest Houston.
Other officers later found a man shot to death at around 2:30 P.M. in a car in the 9900 block of Bessemer Street.
One Deputy Killed In Weekend Shootings
On Saturday morning, Kareem Atkins of Precinct 4’s Harris County Constable’s Office died from a shooting during an off-duty security job. He and two other deputies were at 45 Norte Sports Bar and were trying to detain a suspect when someone opened fire on them from behind. One of the three deputies got shot on his foot, and the other on his back. The deputy who got shot in the back remains in the hospital. For this shooting incident, no suspect has been identified or captured yet.
Increase Of Violent Crimes In Houston
Houston Chronicle noted that Houston police spokesman John Cannon said as of Monday, they recorded at least 388 homicides, which is a 29 percent increase from last year. Houston police Executive Chief Matt Slinkard also noted that the rise in violent crimes is observed in the city and across the United States.
