Man killed while protecting pregnant girlfriend survived shooting just 1 year ago, his mom says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The man who was shot and killed in southeast Houston on Thursday morning, as he told his pregnant girlfriend to run away, survived a shooting a year ago.

Family members identify the victim as 28-year-old Dennis Gigetts.

Houston police were called to a shooting at about 1:35 a.m. on Broadway near Hobby Airport and found one man dead from a gunshot wound. He was lying in the parking lot.

"We weren't bothering nobody. We were just going to the store," said Tanella Moore, Gigetts' girlfriend, who is pregnant.

She said a group of people in the parking lot started antagonizing them as they were walking back home. Gigetts got punched. Others joined in. He yelled out a warning.

"'Baby run! Baby run!' So that's what I did," Moore said.

Moore got away. Gigetts was shot and killed. No one has been arrested or charged.

Thursday evening, at his grandmother's home, Felicia Gigetts, his mother, held tight to his 10-year-old daughter and recalled a year ago this month when her son was shot after answering the door at his apartment on the other side of town.

She said the case has not been solved. It's context for how she feels about her son's murder case now. HPD Chief Troy Finner often reaches out to victim's families. Thursday, he called Gigetts.

"He assured me they would find the people," she said. "But that doesn't reassure me. My son is just another Black young man dead. They're not going to solve this and that's the way I feel."

And so, she said she is leaving it to God. The family is asking for prayers. Moore is already thinking about the stories she will tell their unborn baby.

"Only the good. Their dad was a hero. He was a fighter. He was strong," Moore said.

Houston police are asking anyone with information to come forward and call the homicide unit at 713-308-3600.

Felicia has set up a gofundme page to help raise money to cover costs for Dennis' funeral.