Police shoot alleged gunman, teen found dead blocks away
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- What began as a call about a man with a gun who was firing shots at people in east Houston turned into a murder investigation.
Armando Alejandro and his mother were walking home from Palm Sunday services, when he said the man stuck a gun in his face.
"He said he needed to hurt someone. I told him God loves you. It seemed to calm him down and he walked away," he said.
By 9:40 Sunday morning, people had already called police. When officers arrived and encountered the man with a pistol, there were more gunshots.
"Officers told him to drop his weapon, and he didn't. The two officers saw him raise the pistol. He may have fired once, when the officers shot and struck him multiple times," said HPD spokesman Victor Sentiles.
The suspect survived his injuries at the scene and was transported to Ben Taub Hospital where he underwent surgery.
Then came another call to police -- the body of an 18-year-old woman was found in her family's home just blocks away. She had been shot to death.
Alex Martinez is the brother of the teenager, Esperanza Martinez. He said she had a fight last night with her boyfriend.
HPD said that while a connection between the two events is a strong possibility it hasn't yet been established.
"It's not rocket science," Martinez said. "The cops showed me a picture of a guy with a gun on the street, and I said that's my sister's boyfriend."
"He was on drugs," he said. "I told her she deserved better. She was going to graduate, she was beautiful, and he was bad for her."
Martinez said Esperanza had taken her father's car to pick up her boyfriend just before 9am Sunday. She brought him back to the family's home, as her parents left for work.
"That's when it happened," he believed. "If I had been there, I would have died for her. She was my sister."
Police have not released the name of the suspect.
