2 killed in Thanksgiving shooting in Houston
HOUSTON — A new home on a fast-changing street in Spring Branch became a scene of sudden post-thanksgiving violence late Thursday when a woman’s ex-husband burst in through the back door and opened fire, according to the Houston Police Department.
At around 9:15 p.m., a man stormed into a home where a group of friends and family had just finished eating Thanksgiving dinner and opened fire on them, police said. The man shot four people, killing two including his exwife, police said early Friday. Another man was killed; a second man was seriously injured and in critical condition Friday morning; and a 15-year-old boy also was injured and in stable condition, police said.
Kira Mckinsey said she’s lived in a home diagonal from the site of the shooting in the 1500 block of Baggett Lane and news of the violence was especially shocking.
“I’ve watched the neighborhood redevelop,” she said, “and there’s never really been crime. No one is breaking into cars or anything. But I’ve really watched this area transform in the last two years.”
A review of property records for the address of the shooting shows the home was newly built in 2021 and was purchased by the current owner in May of this year.
Calls to phone numbers connected to the home were not returned.
Investigators have not provided an update in the case since the early hours of Friday morning. At the time, the suspect in the shooting was still at large, police said. Officials shared few other details but said they likely would need the public’s help finding the man.
The shooting happened around 9:15 p.m. Police and first responders arrived within five minutes of being called and immediately went inside, according to the Houston Police Department.
At least eight people had gathered at the home to celebrate Thanksgiving. Some hid in empty rooms during the shooting, police said. The relationship between those gathered wasn’t immediately clear.
Assistant Police Chief Patricia Cantu said the gunman entered the house and “just started firing,” reloading his weapon at least once.
While Cantu said they didn’t have a name of a suspect, police confirmed he was previously in a relationship with the dead woman and they shared a child together.
Mckinsey said she hadn’t heard any noise that evening but that she’d held a Thanksgiving meal and her last guest left around 9:20 p.m. She went to sleep shortly after but woke up after 11 p.m. and learned what had happened, she said. Mckinsey said she hadn’t met the people living at that address, but she saw only two cars outside the home by the time police had arrived.