Houston Police Chief Troy Finer described the suspect, whose name has not been released, as “waiting” for people at the apartment building in the 8000 block of Dunlap Street. Finer said police believe the suspect lived in the building, where the owner rented out rooms and was recently served with an eviction notice. “He’s been staying for a long time and that may have been the trigger for him, I don’t know, but that’s part of the investigation,” Finer said at a news conference. Fire and police departments received multiple calls of a person, a shooting and a fire at the location at about 1:07 a.m., Finner said. When firefighters arrived, they were forced to take cover because the suspect fired a gun. Soon after, a Houston police officer arrived and found the suspect, described as a black man in his 40s, lying prone and armed with a shotgun in a parking lot across the street from the home. The officer fired his gun at the suspect, Finer said. The suspect was apparently shot dead. It was not immediately clear if he was killed by the officer. “There was a spent casing, shell casing … next to the suspect’s body,” Finer said. “I don’t know if he actually fired there, but the officer opened fire.” Officials located two white males in their 60s, who were pronounced dead at the scene. A third person, a black man in his 40s, was taken to a local hospital, where he later died from his injuries. Another man who was shot in the arm was being treated at a local hospital. A fifth man suffered minor injuries while fleeing the scene, officials said. Finer said police believe all the victims were residents of the building, adding that five or six other people who lived there were not injured in the attack. One of the residents, Robin Ahrens, told the Houston Chronicle that he was getting ready to leave for work when he heard what he thought were fireworks. “I’m just lucky I didn’t go outside because he probably would have shot me too,” Ahrens told the Chronicle. Arens, who has lived in the complex for 15 years, told the newspaper that the suspect was ill with colon cancer, was behind on his rent and had no job at the time of the shooting. “Something must have hit him really hard the last couple of days where he just didn’t care,” she said. Speaking to reporters at the scene in the early hours of Sunday, the police chief appeared to allude to the rise in crime across the country following the coronavirus pandemic, saying: “This is just sad what is happening in our country. “I’ve seen things I haven’t seen in 32 years, and this happens over and over again,” Finner said. “People are asking the police chief and the police chiefs and why — we don’t even know why right now. But we’re just asking for the community to come together.” Finer said he was proud of the firefighters who responded and the police officer who took the suspect into custody. In accordance with department policy, the employee is placed on administrative leave. Michael Meier, assistant chief of emergency operations for the Houston Fire Department, said arson officers are still investigating the fire, but their preliminary investigation supports the police theory that it was intentional. The department’s homicide unit and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office are also investigating. “I’m also asking the community to pray for our first responders and for each other,” Mire said, “and maybe we can get out of the chaos we’re living in today’s difficult times.”
