Apartment guest shot, man in his late 70s pistol-whipped during Mission Bend-area home invasion

Courtney Fischer Image
Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Guest shot, elderly man pistol-whipped during home invasion
The elderly man who rents the apartment let his friend who is homeless crash on the couch, but deputies believe he forgot to lock the door on his way in.

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- A man who did a good deed was hit over the head with a gun and his apartment guest was shot during a home invasion overnight.

The intruders are on the run after wreaking havoc inside the man's apartment in the Mission Bend area of southwest Harris County.

Harris County sheriff's deputies responded to a reported shooting at an apartment complex located on Empanada Drive near Golden Star around 3 a.m. Wednesday.

The man who lives at the apartment told detectives he woke up to two guys wearing masks rummaging through his dresser drawers. He tried to stop them, and that's when he was attacked.

Investigators say the intruders pistol-whipped the resident, who's in his late 70s. As he was attacked, his friend, who had been asleep on the couch, woke up.

The intruders shot his friend once, possibly twice, as they ran out the door, deputies said.

That man shot is homeless, according to the elderly man who lives at the apartment. Investigators say he knew the homeless man for close to a decade and invited him to crash on the couch.

They think the homeless man didn't lock the door, and that's how the intruders got in. There's no sign of forced entry, according to deputies.

The man shot was transported to the hospital. Officials say he has serious injuries but is stable after surgery. He has possible internal bleeding, but he's expected to pull through.

Investigators do not have much of a description for two intruders, who they say were wearing masks.

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