Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Sheriff: 4 dead in Houston domestic violence shooting

Four people have been killed at a Houston home in what authorities say was likely a domestic violence shooting that included a man firing at police before turning a gun on himself

Via AP news wire
Wednesday 30 December 2020 14:58 EST
Houston-Shooting
Houston-Shooting (Houston Chronicle)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Four people were killed at a Houston home Wednesday in what authorities said was likely a domestic violence shooting that included a man firing at police before turning a gun on himself.

Officers went to a home in the city’s northeast around 3:15 a.m. after receiving a call saying a woman had been shot, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said at a news conference. The officers were met with gunfire and a SWAT team from the sheriff s office was then dispatched to the home.

Gonzalez said the SWAT team was eventually able to negotiate with the man to enter the home, but as team members were going inside they heard “a final gunshot.” In the house, the officers found two dead women and two dead men, including a 49-year-old man who shot himself, he said.

Gonzalez said he believes the 49-year-old was the boyfriend of one of the women and that the other woman and man were her adult children. He also said one of the women who was ultimately shot is likely the person who called police. He did not identify any of them by name or give the ages of the other three.

The sheriff said the boyfriend appears to have been “the aggressor,” but he emphasized that investigators are not yet certain of how the shootings played out. He said multiple guns were found in the home and the 49-year-old told police he was injured before he shot himself.

Gonzalez said investigators believe everyone but that man had been shot before officers arrived. He said officers did not fire any shots and that no officers were wounded.

Sheriff's deputies have not been called to the house before, according to Gonzalez.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in