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Houston Shooting Leaves Gunman Dead and Nine Others Injured Near Mall, Police Say Houston Gunman With Nazi Emblem Injures 9 Before Being Killed by Police
(about 5 hours later)
A lawyer who may have had “issues” at work opened fire at random in a residential area of Houston early Monday morning, injuring nine people before the police shot him dead, the authorities said. A lawyer wearing a military uniform with a Nazi emblem and armed with two guns and nearly 2,600 rounds of ammunition opened fire on random passers-by in Houston early Monday, injuring nine people before he was killed by the police, the authorities said.
Six people were taken to hospitals, one in serious condition and another in critical condition, the police said. Three others were treated and released. Six of the victims were taken to hospitals, one in critical condition and another in serious condition, the police said. Three others were treated at the scene.
The interim police chief, Martha Montalvo, said at a news conference that the gunman, whom she did not identify, had additional weapons in his car, which officers were checking for bombs. The local TV station ABC 13 showed images of a Porsche Boxster parked on the street as officer searched the vehicle. At a news conference on Monday afternoon, Capt. Dwayne W. Ready of the Houston Police Department detailed the tense scene that had unfolded starting about 6:30 a.m. local time.
“He is a lawyer and there were issues concerning his law firm,” Chief Montalvo said. The department’s interim chief, Martha Montalvo, said the first reports of gunfire began to trickle in when children were being driven to school, workers were setting off for their jobs and it was still dark on Law Street, where the shooting took place. The street is the thoroughfare in the small, upscale residential neighborhood of West University Place in southwest Houston.
Responding to multiple calls, police officers from several different departments converged on the area, where they had to engage the gunman while trying to protect civilians already present while keeping others away.
The suspect exchanged gunfire with officers from about 25 yards away, Captain Ready said, and was driven to take cover behind a tree close to where his car was parked. One officer left cover to rescue a victim who had been shot in a vehicle while other officers provided that officer with cover.
“One of the more complex issues was tending to both the injured citizens who were still in the line of fire while engaging the suspect,” Captain Ready said.
The police would not identify the suspect at the afternoon news conference or speculate on his motive. But earlier in the day, Chief Montalvo said, “He is a lawyer, and there were issues concerning his law firm.”
The authorities believe the suspect acted alone, and at the news conference, Mark Webster, an assistant special agent in charge of F.B.I. special operations, said they were not aware of any connection to a terrorist organization, though he said the investigation was still preliminary.
Captain Ready said that the gunman was wearing military style apparel, and that there were “some old Nazi emblems about his personal effects” and where he lived, along with “vintage military stuff” dating to the Civil War. He would not speculate on whether it was Nazi apparel, but Chief Montalvo said later that “an old Nazi emblem” was on his uniform.
The gunman was also carrying an “edged weapon,” something like a knife, still in the sheath, Captain Ready said.
The suspect had two guns, a .45-caliber Tommy gun and a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun. Both weapons were purchased legally, a spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said.
The local TV station ABC 13 showed images of a Porsche Boxster parked on the street as the vehicle was searched.
Jennifer Molleda, a woman whose husband’s car was shot up while he was driving, told ABC 13, “The shooter was literally pointing the gun at windshields.”Jennifer Molleda, a woman whose husband’s car was shot up while he was driving, told ABC 13, “The shooter was literally pointing the gun at windshields.”
She said her husband had spoken to her by telephone after he pulled into the parking lot of a Petco store at a strip mall nearby. The mayor of Houston, Sylvester Turner, who was in Cuba on a trade trip, told ABC 13 television by telephone that the investigation was looking into whether a relationship at the lawyer’s place of employment had gone “awry.”
“He was screaming: ‘I am shot. I am shot,’ ” she said, adding that her husband told her, “ ‘I could see the red laser; it was directed to my head.’ ”
Chief Montalvo said the first reports of gunfire began to trickle in to police dispatchers just before 7:30 a.m. Eastern, when children were being driven to school, workers were setting off for their jobs, and it was still dark in the small, upscale city of West University Place in southwest Houston, where many of the streets are named for poets and authors.
The initial calls for help pointed to the busy intersection of Weslayan Street and Bissonnet Street, close to the strip mall and an apartment complex. But people who came under fire on nearby Law Street may have driven toward the mall, Chief Montalvo said.
The mayor of Houston, Sylvester Turner, who was in Cuba on a trade trip, told ABC 13 by telephone that the investigation was looking into whether a relationship at the lawyer’s place of employment had gone “awry.”
Witnesses told local television stations that they had heard several gunshots. “Steady shooting back and forth — it was a lot,” said Antoine Wilson, who told ABC 13 that he was driving in the area and heard multiple gunshots.Witnesses told local television stations that they had heard several gunshots. “Steady shooting back and forth — it was a lot,” said Antoine Wilson, who told ABC 13 that he was driving in the area and heard multiple gunshots.
An unidentified woman told the TV station that she had been driving to work when she heard the gunfire. Her car was struck from the front and side, she said, but she kept driving, pulling around a corner until she came to a stop.An unidentified woman told the TV station that she had been driving to work when she heard the gunfire. Her car was struck from the front and side, she said, but she kept driving, pulling around a corner until she came to a stop.
“I could still hear shots being fired on the streets,” she said, her arm bloody from broken glass.“I could still hear shots being fired on the streets,” she said, her arm bloody from broken glass.
Lee Williams, who said he lives near the site of the gunfire, told ABC 13 that he was outside and tried to direct traffic away. “Once the police got here, they made me go back to my house,” he said. “I heard a lot of back and forth,” he said, adding that he had counted about 50 shots. At the afternoon news conference, Chief Montalvo stressed the need for the public to be ready for such situations.
Mr. Williams retreated to his front porch but was close enough to hear the police radios say, “He is down.” “We have to make sure as emergency medical workers, not just the Houston Police Department but all of us, that we’re prepared for these types of incidents,” she said. “Because obviously they are occurring. And we have to ensure that public safety is our priority.”
She went on to detail how people should respond, saying civilians should think first to run, then to hide, and to fight only if no other options are available.