The Harris County Sheriff's Office said a man with three warrants for previously attacking his ex-girlfriend returned to her apartment Thursday morning, shot her, and took off with their 4-year-old son.
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The attack happened at about 9 a.m. at the victim's apartment on Ella Boulevard, near the Cypress Creek Parkway.
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying the woman was taken to the hospital after being shot.
The suspect, 25-year-old Quandarrius Gardner, is currently at the Harris County Jail. Deputies said they found him walking down the street from the apartment with his son, adding that they reunited the child with other family members.
Eyewitness News spoke with the victim's mother, who said she's thankful her daughter is awake.
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She told ABC13 that the victim is alert and expected to recover physically. She added that her daughter has been trying to get help for years.
Documents obtained by ABC13 show Gardner had five outstanding warrants, three of those being felony charges, at the time of the shooting. The Harris County District Attorney's Office and sheriff's office confirmed three warrants are tied to two previously reported attacks on the victim.
Gardner was first charged with hitting her back in 2020. He was released on bond but arrested for an unrelated charge in November 2020, and again, he was released on bond.
However, days after his release, his bond for the May 9, 2020, attack was revoked because the November incident was a violation of his bond conditions. The DA's Office confirmed Gardner was on the run since.
In May 2023, two additional warrants were issued after Gardner reportedly attacked the victim a second time. She said he held a gun in her face and threatened to kill her and her children if she refused to "get back with him."
Documents show she told officers she wanted a protective order last year after Gardner was arrested for reportedly threatening to kill her, holding a gun in her face, and choking her out with an electrical cord.
She told officers she "truly believed (Gardner) would kill (her) and (her) children," and she would like to have a protective order "to keep Gardner away from her and her family."
Neighbors said they often saw the pair fight.
The sheriff's office confirms they were at the same apartment as recently as two days ago, noting that the victim called law enforcement saying Gardner was on drugs while banging on her door.
When officers got there, he was gone. The victim said she thought Gardner went to a gas station down the street, but the sheriff's office said when deputies went to check, they did not see Gardner.
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The family told ABC13 Gardner also had other open felony warrants out of different jurisdictions.
The victim's neighbors told Eyewitness News they are upset and believe this should have never happened.
Eyewitness News spoke with a neighbor who asked to conceal their identity because they're not confident in the system to hold Gardner.
"Those kinds of people are not supposed to get out, you know? He was supposed to stay in. He was never supposed to get out. She was young. She was a quiet girl. I always see her with her son, and she didn't deserve that," the neighbor said.
If you need help getting out of a domestic violence situation, call the Houston Area Women's Center 24/7 hotline at 713-528-2121 or call AVDA at 713-224-9911. You can also click here to chat with an advocate online. If you are deaf or hard of hearing and need help, call 713-528-3625.
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