Man killed becomes 2nd to die while confronting car burglar at South Loop apartment complex

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- For at least the second time in more than five months, Houston police are investigating a deadly shooting at a South Loop apartment complex in which a person died while trying to stop someone from breaking into vehicles.

The latest incident happened late Thursday morning at the Advenir at the Med Center complex at 9955 Buffalo Speedway.

HPD officers were called to the area just after 11 a.m. when they found a man's body just outside of the complex's gate.

According to Sgt. Adrian Lopez, the victim and his girlfriend confronted two or possibly three people who were breaking into cars and pulling on door handles. One of the suspected burglars got into an argument or physical altercation, ending with the victim being shot.

The suspects took off from the scene and remain on the run, as of Thursday evening. The suspects may be teens or younger men. The shooter, in particular, may have been wearing a green hoodie.

Police were also looking into whether the suspects took off in different directions.

Bria Gable told ABC13 her sister has been dating the victim, a man in his 30s whose identity has not yet been released by police, for years. She says her sister and the victim have three kids together.

"He's a good guy. You think you can try to talk to people, and I'm sure that's what he was trying to do. But everybody's not talkable. (It's a) very tragic situation for him. She's (sister) trying to hold up because she has her kids and stuff, and we're trying not to break down in front of her, but it's all new to us and hard for everybody," Gable said.

Police believe the burglars were able to get into a vehicle and may have taken a purse inside a truck belonging to either the victim or the victim's girlfriend before moving on to another vehicle next to it.

The previous shooting 5 months earlier

Thursday's deadly confrontation reportedly played out similarly to one over the summer at the same apartment complex.

On June 30, 25-year-old Blake Deion Davenport was shot to death and his girlfriend was injured when they exchanged fire with another man at the Advenir at the Med Center.

At the time, HPD said the shooting erupted when the victim went to the apartment parking lot and saw a man near his car. Because his car had been burglarized before, the victim confronted the man and things escalated when they both pulled out their weapons and shot at each other.

The victim's girlfriend also ran out to the parking lot, had her own gun and exchanged gunfire with the suspect as well.

It's unclear if the suspect was attempting to break into the victim's vehicle or not, police said.

Investigators identified 21-year-old Jerel R. Banks as the suspect in the case. He was out on a felony bond at the time of the shooting, police said.

Banks was arrested on Aug. 5 on murder and tampering with evidence charges.

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