After SWAT standoff, man charged in wife’s fatal shooting
SWAT standoff ends after suspect shoots himself at a Katy apartment, officials say
Deputies investigate the Katy apartment where a man barricaded himself Monday morning after the fatal shooting of his estranged wife at another complex. The man was taken to a hospital with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
A man has been charged with murder, accused of killing his estranged wife in Harris County before shooting himself hours later during a SWAT standoff in Fort Bend County.
By the time prosecutors filed charges against 47-year-old Renny Nunez, he was still hospitalized in critical condition.
The SWAT standoff began Monday morning after Nunez drove to a Katy apartment complex following the shooting of his wife, Fort Bend Sheriff Troy Nehls said. The scene ended when deputies entered the building and found Nunez with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the sheriff ’s office.
He was rushed to the hospital in “very serious condition,” Nehls said.
Tipped off by a phone call from a worried relative afraid the man would kill himself, a Fort Bend SWAT team responded before 7 a.m. to 2425 Katy-Flewellen, an apartment complex just south of Interstate 10.
Approached in parking lot
There, they found a man, now identified as Nunez, barricaded inside the building. After hours of attempting to negotiate without making any actual contact, a SWAT team released gas canisters into the apartment around 9:30 a.m. and then forced their way inside. Officers found him on the ground near the door, Nehls said.
First responders carried him out on a stretcher and he was flown to the hospital with one self-inflicted gunshot wound, deputies said. It is unclear whether the man shot himself before or after the SWAT team arrived on the scene.
Nunez had fled the scene of an earlier slaying in Harris County in the 21101 block of Kingsland, authorities believe.
His estranged wife was leaving for work around 4:30 a.m., when he approached her as she crossed the parking lot with her new boyfriend, according to the Harris County Sheriff ’s Office.
It’s not clear if the two exchanged any words before the estranged husband allegedly pulled out a gun and opened fire. It’s not clear how many times the woman was shot, but deputies said her new boyfriend was not hurt and that no one else was in danger.
“This is an isolated incident,” Lt. Chris Sandoval said. “There are no other shooters that are running around the apartment complex or in the area.”
Afterward, the suspected shooter drove a few miles away to the Fort Bend location. The caller who alerted authorities said her brother was threatening to kill himself and had admitted to killing his wife, who was around 30 years old.
The Fort Bend sheriff ’s office alerted Katy ISD police to the situation as students were starting to head to school. WoodCreek Junior High is less than one mile away from the SWAT scene.
‘They happen far too often’
By 8 a.m., the SWAT team was still looking to negotiate with the man but was hesitant to move too quickly because of heavy activity in the area, Nehls said.
“This is a busy intersection, a lot of children in the apartment complex,” the sheriff said. “We wanted all the children to be on the buses and out, out of this apartment complex.”
The estranged couple appeared to have a recent history of domestic violence, Nehls said. As recently as last week, they both filed complaints at the county’s Katy court annex, although the nature of those complaints is unclear, he said.
They have a 2-year-old child together, as well as children from previous relationships, Nehls said. Those children are all safe.
Sandoval encouraged anyone in a domestic violence situation to seek help from their sheriff ’s office or local law enforcement.
“You don’t have to face that situation alone; you can get help,” he said. “We want to prevent these types of situations from taking place because they happen far too often.”