Texas
Fatal shooting likely in self-defense
San Antonio, Texas – Police said a Northwest Side shooting death Sunday night could be justified in self-defense.
26-year-old Boanegres Najera broke into a friend’s home in the 9600 block of Timber Laurel after he was kicked out of a bar for causing a disturbance. Najera allegedly stole a gun from the home.
Later in the evening, the owner of the gun confronted Najera in the 5200 block of Northwest Trails.
The men struggled over the weapon before a third man, the gun owner’s brother, shot the suspect about 10:45 p.m., police said. Najera died at the scene, while the shooter fled.
Police said the shooter likely would not face charges because he was defending his brother. More on MySanAntonio.com
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Family Questioning Shooting Death of Former Soldier
Capt. Tim Wilson of the Corpus Christi Police Departments Investigation Division says, “(the) 28 year old suspect got out of the car. He walked away officers that were following him to the empty field. He turnaround, pulled out a knife, and started walking toward an officer. The officer attempted to taze him. The tazer did not work. He kept walking toward the officer. The officer was telling him to stop and at that time, when he kept walking, the officer fired several shots.”
Eyewitnesses to the shooting say they saw a cellphone in his hand. Lara Cruz is a receptionist at a dentist office and saw the shooting. She doesn’t believe police had to shoot. More on KIItv.com
Man fatally shot had pointed gun at nightclub security guard
Fort Worth, Texas – A 23-year-old man who had been thrown out of an east Fort Worth club was fatally shot by one of the owners early Saturday after reportedly pointing a gun at an unarmed security guard.
Police said Monday that they will consult with the Tarrant County district attorney’s office to determine whether the 34-year-old club owner will face charges in the death of Michael Angelo Vela.
The shooting occurred about 2:30 a.m. outside Club Hip-Notic at 2934 E. Lancaster Ave.
According to witness statements to police, a group of four to five men, including Vela, had been escorted out of the club shortly before the shooting after they began throwing beer bottles and fighting with other patrons. More on Star-Telegram.com
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Father, Son Found dead in apparent murder-suicide
GARLAND, Texas ― Neither a Sachse family nor Garland police know what motivated a father to shoot his 10-year-old son and then commit suicide. Their bodies were found Friday morning near Firewheel Golf Park in Garland.
Police say they may never know why 37-year-old Matthew Knapp, an outwardly stable family man with no known legal or medical issues, would suddenly turn a gun on his son, 10-year-old Brody, and then kill himself.
A man walking his dog made the grizzly discovery – two bodies lying near a creek bed. Arriving police found a pistol near Matthew Knapp’s body. They believe he shot Brody and then himself. More onCBS11tv.com
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Man turns in self in shooting death investigation
PORT LAVACA, Texas – One of the men possibly involved in Wednesday’s shooting death of Joseph Martinez turned himself in Friday.
The man was not arrested, but was interviewed, said Port Lavaca Police Chief John Stewart.
Martinez, 26, of Houston, was shot in the neck about 10:33 p.m. Wednesday at the top of a staircase of a Port Lavaca apartment at 404 Holiday Lane. He was transported to the Memorial Medical Center, and pronounced dead at 12:20 a.m. He suffered heavy bleeding in his neck.
The shooting occurred after an argument, witnesses said. More on Victoria Advocate
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Shooting death of 12 year old boy under investigation
Jasper County, Texas – The Jasper County Sheriff’s Department tells KFDM News it’s investigating the shooting death of a 12 year old boy.
Chief Deputy Ralph Nichols says the sheriff’s office received a 9-1-1 call at about 4 p.m. Thursday from someone reporting that a 12 year old boy had been shot in the head with a 20 gauge shotgun.
It happened at a home on Walton Drive in Cougar Country near Buna.
Nichols says the sheriff’s office is still investigating the details surrounding the death. More on KFDM
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Boyfriend Charged In Woman’s Shooting Death in bed
EL PASO, Texas — Las Cruces police arrested a man they accuse in the shooting death of 19-year-old Noel Brown Tuesday morning. Police found Brown lying on a bed with a gunshot wound to her stomach. She was taken to Mountain View Regional Medical Center where she was pronounced dead.
Christopher Michael Mata, 21, told detectives that he and Brown were drinking and having a barbeque at her apartment Monday evening. Mata said they went back to his house and were getting into bed when a loaded weapon that he keeps nearby fired, striking, Brown said police. More on Kfoxtv.com
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Argument Leads To Shooting Death Of Amarillo Man
Amarillo, Texas – Amarillo police are investigating the shooting death of a 65-year-old man.
Police report an argument among several family members led to the shooting at around 9:45 Saturday night at 4718 Cherokee. Appling’s 15-year-old relative has been booked into the Juvenile Detention Center on a murder charge. More on News Channel 10
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )Houston man shot and killed by unknown suspect
Houston, Texas –
Houston police are investigating the shooting death of a man Sunday in northwest Houston.
Troy Patrick Fontenot, 42, of Houston, was shot several times in the 8300 block of Chateau Forest about 2:30 a.m. Sunday, police said.
Police said that Fontenot was standing in the street talking to a friend when unknown suspects approached him.
One suspect pointed a pistol at Fontenot and demanded his belongings. When Fontenot ran away, the suspect shot him several times.
The suspect is described as a light-skinned black man, about 5-foot-10, with shoulder-length braids. The suspect wore black clothes, including a long-sleeve shirt. He was seen in a beige four-door vehicle, make and model unknown, with dark tinted windows. More on Chron.com
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Man shot by former father-in-law during an altercation
Dallas, Texas – A 42-year-old Midlothian man was fatally shot Friday night, Arlington police said.
Rodney Kennedy was in his ex-wife’s home when he was shot by his former father-in-law, 67, police said. The shooting happened at 10 p.m. during an altercation, according to reports.
The shooting occurred in the 1400 block of South Pecan Street, near the University of Texas at Arlington. More on Star-Telegram.com
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )High school student shot to death while biking to school
FORT BLISS, Texas — A Chapin High School student who would have graduated in June was shot and killed Friday morning, allegedly by a soldier. The bullet felled Ezra Gerald Smith, 18, who was riding his bike to school in a military housing area near Fort Bliss.
Army Spc. Gerald Polanco allegedly shot Smith dead about 7:50 a.m., Fort Bliss officials said.
Polanco, 37, also was charged with shooting and wounding another soldier.Polanco was in a home when he allegedly opened fire. Both victims were outside, said Maj. Gen. Howard B. Bromberg, commanding officer at Fort Bliss.
The second victim, a male soldier whose name was withheld by post administrators, was in stable condition at Beaumont Army Medical Center. Bromberg said the soldier had non-life-threatening wounds.
Twenty minutes after the gunfire, Polanco turned himself in to military police and was arrested. Bromberg could offer no possible motive for the shootings. More on El Paso Times
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Man confronting officers shot to death
Houston, Texas –
Houston police fatally shot an armed man Friday during an exchange of gunfire at a southeast side public housing complex, officials said.
Officers confronted the man, identified by relatives as Jose Vides, while they were investigating a disturbance with a weapon call shortly after 3 p.m. at the Southlawn Palms apartments at Southlawn and Scott.
“When they arrived, the suspect was holding a gun. They gave repeated commands for the suspect to drop the weapon,” said Jodi Silva, a police spokeswoman.
Ryland Thompson, who lives at the apartments, saw the officers ordering Vides to put the pistol on the ground.
“He turned and fired at them and they returned fire,” Thompson said.
HPD officials said Vides moved toward the officers, continuing to shoot as they sought cover.
“He (Vides) walked out there like he was Billy the Kid,” Thompson said.
The three HPD officers fired back at Vides. He fell to the ground but continued reaching for his pistol, police said. Vides, 25, was shot at least once more and died at the scene, police said.
Thompson said he saw Vides arguing with a wrecker driver in the parking lot just prior to the officers arrival. “The guy was mad about his car being towed,” Thompson said. More on Houston Chronicle
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Man, woman found shot to death in Frisco home
Dallas, Texas – A man and a woman were found fatally shot inside a Frisco home late Saturday, hours after a police tactical team responded to a report that a man with a gun was inside the home.
Their names were not released, pending notification of relatives. The relationship of the man and the woman was also not released.
The situation began about 5:30 p.m. in the 9100 block of Apollo Court when a girl alerted a neighbor.
Officers surrounded the house and tried unsuccessfully to make contact with the people inside, a police spokesman said.
About 9 p.m., officers entered the house, where they found the bodies.
Police declined to say whether the case was a murder-suicide, but they do not believe there is a gunman on the loose. More on Dallas News
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )22-year-old man shot to death by another gang member
EDINBURG, Texas – Albert Tobias Cuevas, 29, is wanted in connection with the death of 22-year-old Alton resident Arnulfo Calderon Hernandez Jr. Hernandez’s body was found March 21 in the middle of 8 Mile Line between Stewart and Bryan roads, northeast of Mission.
Sheriff’s investigators believe Cuevas shot Hernandez multiple times inside Cuevas’ moving 2004 Pontiac Grand Am and then pushed Hernandez out of the car while it was still moving.
Cuevas confessed to a witness that he had killed Hernandez on the belief that the 22-year-old Alton man was being disrespectful.
The suspected killer is a member of the street gang El Cinco, the same criminal organization to which Hernandez belonged. More on The Monitor
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )University student Shot Dead a homeless man
HOUSTON, Texas — Authorities say a University of Houston student fatally shot a homeless man on the school campus because he believes homeless people are a blight on society.
Jeremy Lee Pierce remains in jail after being charged with murder in the shooting death of Joe Tall.
Police say Pierce has admitted killing the 47-year-old Tall at a campus bus stop Feb. 7.
Pierce, 32, made an initial court appearance Friday and is being held on a $75,000 bond. Court records did not list an attorney for Pierce.
Several students on campus described Pierce as an aggressive person who often talked or ranted to himself.
University police initially arrested Pierce for threatening two students at residential complex with a gun. More on Chron.com
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )
Gun Deaths in the United States 