4 people killed in 7 shootings in Houston area overnight, police say

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A barricaded man involved in a standoff with HPD's SWAT team was taken into custody after police said another man was shot to death at a southwest Houston apartment complex.

The man barricaded himself just after midnight inside one of the apartments on Country Creek near Deering Thursday at about midnight, according to police.

This is one of four homicides in the area overnight, two of which happened within the city of Houston.

SWAT units arrived at about 7 a.m., and after waiting a reasonable amount of time, Cmdr. Megan Howard said officials breached the door.

That's when the man announced his presence and SWAT officials began negotiating. The man came down without any incident at about 8:30 a.m. and is being questioned by homicide investigators, according to HPD.

The man, believed to be in his 60s, is not a suspect at this time, police said. Some weapons were recovered at the scene.

In southeast Houston, police said a man was found with a gunshot wound to the head at an apartment complex. It happened Thursday at about 12:20 a.m. on Jarmese and Coffee, according to police.

The man was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Police said they do not believe the gunshot was self-inflicted.

A father is also at a hospital in critical condition after an argument with his wife led to his adult son shooting the man, according to police.

The shooting happened Wednesday at about 8:28 p.m. on Richmond near Misty Park Drive in southwest Houston.

Police said the 24-year-old son remains on the loose.

In north Houston, police said they found the body of what is believed to be a man with a gunshot wound.

It happened at about 9:30 p.m. in the 4100 block of North Freeway near Riggs.

Police are looking for surveillance after they said a passerby saw a man fire a shot and leave the scene.

If you know any information regarding this incident, you are urged to contact Houston Police Department.

On Tuesday, the city gave an update on the One Safe Houston program, a $45 million initiative to help with the rise in crime.

SEE MORE: One Safe Houston: City's homicide rate down 3% compared to this time in 2021

City leaders said the program is working, attributing to the 3% decrease in the homicide rate over the same time last year. The statistic, though, translates to only five less homicides.

"Those numbers have been trending in the right direction. And not just on homicides, but almost in all other categories. I'm not here at all to say that it's a mission accomplished, not saying that at all," said Mayor Sylvester Turner.

While the homicide rate has slightly gone down compared to 2021, HPD records reveal staffing issues are causing response times to take longer than they should.

Part of the One Safe Houston initiative allocates money for 125 officers to be paid overtime to work the streets in hot spots throughout the community. The department said that number ebbs and flows as staffing is also making that goal tough to meet.

Executive assistant Chief Matt Slinkard said officers are tired and sometimes having to work these additional hours is difficult.

While the city is working toward being safer, nights like these with several homicides and shootings are a clear reminder we are not where we would like to be yet.

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