Houston police said the shooting happened at approximately 9 p.m. inside the Southway Manor apartment the couple shared.
Shanita Thompson told ABC13 the victim is her sister, Lazette King. She said the pair were broken up at the time of the shooting. However, King allowed her ex to continue living inside the apartment.
After the shooting, police said the suspect sent a photograph of King's body to his relative. Thompson told ABC13 that the relative then contacted her daughter.
"She called, and she said, 'I think he killed her,' and then she sent a picture of my sister.
She said the man took her sister's phone and used it to taunt her family.
"He started calling and answering the phone and he sent a message just saying 'f--- everybody,'" she explained.
Thompson said her parents left their home, concerned for their own safety.
Police said they took the man into custody near the Willowbrook Mall, 30 miles from the apartment, at approximately 3 a.m. Wednesday. Court records show he was arrested on a felony warrant that had been active since 2023. Records show no previous arrests had been made in the case, which was opened after he reportedly sent intimate photos and videos of King to her boss - something she told an investigator, she believed he had done, in an attempt to get her fired.
"It was volatile. It wasn't the best of relationships. One that we would hope people would get away from and you just walk away from but unfortunately this is where we are now," she said.
The Houston Police Department told Eyewitness News the man is also accused of shooting a man in the parking lot of his apartment complex around the same time Tuesday night. ABC13 spoke with the man as he was released from the hospital. He said the suspect attacked him while he was inside of his car with his fiancee and their two children. He said he does not know why he was targeted. He said he was shot in the thigh.
ABC13 is not naming the suspect because he is not currently charged in the two shootings.
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.