A man allegedly shot and killed two people in a Texas motel parking lot and wounded two others before he died in a shootout with police, authorities reported Sunday.
Three officers arrived on the scene after they received a call from a person believed to be the gunman at around 11 p.m. on Sunday, who described he had weapons and could potentially shoot others. The shooting happened at the Palace Inn motel in northwest Houston, where two of the victims were killed before law enforcement arrived at the scene, according to a press conference with Houston Police Department executive police chief Matt Slinkard. Two others were wounded in the parking lot as police arrived on scene.
The suspect was reportedly on the second floor balcony as police arrived, firing shots down onto them before they could exit their vehicles. Police returned fire until the suspect “went down” in the open doorway of what appeared to be his motel room, Slinkard said.
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Police proceeded upstairs to the second floor balcony in a group and “behind a shield,” the police chief added, noting the deceased victims were discovered on the second floor. No officers were harmed during the incident.
“It does not appear that these two victims knew our suspect,” Slinkard said, noting the two deceased individuals appeared to be a man and a woman of “Hispanic” descent. The victims’ names and ages were not immediately revealed by law enforcement.
Slinkard said it was not clear if the suspect shot himself or if he died from police gunshots. The suspect has been described as an African American male in his 30s. A firearm was also recovered from the scene.
The two nonfatal shooting victims were struck as the suspect fired at officers over the balcony and are being treated for their wounds. An investigation is underway by the HPD.
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“Just underlines and underscores sometimes how dangerous the calls are that our officers respond to,” Slinkard said. “Very tragic for those who lost their life tonight — definitely unnecessarily.”
