METRORail shooting: Tip leads police to man who allegedly shot woman at Palm Center Station

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The Metro Police Department has arrested a man they believe is responsible for shooting a woman along the METRORail in southeast Houston last week, thanks to a tip.

On Sunday, 44-year-old Markeith Jermaine Allison was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Officers say Allison was out on bond for a theft charge in November 2022 and lives less than a mile away from the transit station.

On Dec. 28, Houston and METRO police departments responded to 5400 Griggs Road at the Palm Center Transit Station. The woman appeared to be exiting the train, and the shooter may have been on a bike, investigators said.

Broken glass could be seen where the conductor typically sits, which police said was damage left from the shooting.

At some point, both the woman and the shooter were on the train together, according to police.

Court documents show officers, through surveillance video, saw Allison riding his bicycle on the train platform and approaching the victim, who has been identified as 27-year-old Mary Kelly.

In the video, the woman is heard shouting, and two guns shots follow after, police said.

Records say the alleged suspect is accused of grabbing Kelly by the back of the head and firing his gun.

Authorities say Kelly fell to the ground, and Allison rode away on his bike.

Court records state Kelly told authorities that she knew the person that shot her.

Kelly's family told ABC13 the suspect and Kelly were recent friends, they say he liked her, but he "wasn't her type".

According to officials, Kelly was placed in a medically-induced coma to undergo brain surgery.

Her family says she remains at the hospital but is doing a little better but is still under careful watch.

They tell us they're grateful she's here to see another year.

A motive, in this case, has not yet been determined by investigators.

Since October, this shooting marked the sixth violent incident on or near METRORail's line.

• A 28-year-old woman was attacked at the Palm Center Station on Oct. 29.

• On Nov. 15, a man was beaten with a baseball bat by a group of men at the light rail stop at Fulton and Cavalcade.

• Another deadly incident took place on Nov. 21 after a man was stabbed multiple times in the torso onboard a METRORail.

• A man was grazed during a fight on Dec. 7 with about 17 people on the bus at the time, according to police.

• On Dec. 17, a suspect was shot, and an officer was injured after a shooting inside a METRORail train.