Family mourns 23-year-old killed while walking dog on Easter Sunday
Christensen Hill spent all of Sunday with his family and friends, joining them for Easter Church service and a family meal, his older sister, Kristian Rockemore, said.
That night, he took his French Bulldog, Blu, for a walk and had reached the parking lot of his apartment complex when he was shot to death.
“He really didn’t deserve what happened to him,” Rockemore said.
Around 11 p.m., Hill, 23, was approached by two men and then shot in the parking lot of his Summer Street apartment building, according to the Houston Police Department.
The men then drove off in Hill’s Cadillac sedan, police said. No arrests have been made.
On Wednesday, Hill’s sister said her family grieved for the young man they called “Bubba” and “Swipa.” Rockemore said she believed that her brother might have been targeted by the other men, but she didn’t know why. While the men took his car, they left his other possessions, including his wallet and phone, she said. Police at a community meeting Tuesday night made similar comments about Hill’s death, according to KHOU.
“The way the situation happened, it didn’t make any sense that it was a random thing,” she said.
Hill was a Houston native and a graduate of James Madison High School, where he played football, his sister said. He briefly attended Blinn College in Brenham before returning to Houston, she said. He moved into the apartment complex last year, Rockemore said.
“My brother never worried about his safety in that apartment complex,” Rockemore said. The lot is gated and required a code to get inside, she said.
Along with his older sister, Hill had an older brother and a younger brother who attends Prairie View A&M University. His mother died from an illness in 2019. His father died when Hill was young, also a victim of gun violence, Rockemore said.
Hill was trying to start his own clothing line and spent most of his time with his friends or at the gym, Rockemore said. He had a love for fine dining and the Houston Rockets, she said.
He also loved his dog, Blu, who Rockemore described as her brother in canine form. The dog ran away from the scene of the shooting and is now at Rockemore’s home, she said.
“They acted so much alike,” Rockemore said. “I’m glad he left me some piece of him.”
Police asked anyone with information about the shooting to call the police department’s homicide division at 713-308-3600 or speak anonymously with Crime Stoppers of Houston at 713-222-TIPS.