Man who shot himself after shooting mother of child and fleeing, charged with murder, HPD says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The Harris County District Attorney's Office has filed a murder charge against 36-year-old Antonio Cornell Williams, accused of fatally shooting the mother of his child before fleeing and shooting himself on Friday.

The video above is from the initial report.

On May 30, Houston Police Department patrol officers responded to the 700 block of East 36th Street in Independence Heights. When officers arrived, the victim, 33-year-old Myanda Thomas, was discovered unresponsive in a bedroom and suffering from several gunshot wounds.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

A preliminary investigation found that Thomas and William, who share a 2-year-old son, got into a physical altercation with each other that led to Thomas being shot, HPD said.

Police said a short time later, Williams took the child and fled the scene on a bicycle.

"To get this call that she's not here is like, 'No way,'" Verna Hall, Thomas' mother, said. "'You're joking.' I just kept saying that this is a bad dream. This is a nightmare."

Officers were given a description of Williams and began an extensive search for him. About two miles from the scene off the North Freeway frontage road, the gunman was found, along with the small child.

Officers approached Williams, but before he could be apprehended, he turned the gun on himself, HPD said. Williams was given medical care before being transported to the hospital for a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

He remains hospitalized, officials said.

The victim's family says Thomas and Williams were not in a relationship. The two did argue, but never to this extent, the family said.

The police said the two-year-old was not injured and is now with William's family.

This, however, is not the suspect's first run-in with law enforcement.

Fort Bend County records show that Williams was on house arrest after recently being released from prison for a felon in possession of a weapon charge after a seven-month sentence.

Williams was also indicted, records show, in 2022 in the case of a 60-year-old woman who was fatally shot in New Year's Eve in 2020. The victim was the mother of his girlfriend at the time.

RELATED: Family seeks justice for grandmother killed on New Year's Eve

According to police, they believe the 2020 shooting stemmed from Williams and his ex-girlfriend getting into an altercation.