SWAT team arrests 26-year-old a week after woman killed at downtown Houston apartments, HPD says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A SWAT team arrested a 26-year-old man who the Houston Police Department said shot an Air Force veteran and left her dead in the lobby of her downtown apartment complex.

Police charged Tristian Sanders with murder in connection with 34-year-old Vanity Williams' death a week ago Friday at 1711 Caroline St.

The video above is from an Aug. 8, 2024, report.

HPD said Sanders' arrest happened in Luling, Louisiana. He's behind bars at the St. Charles Parish Jail, awaiting extradition.

According to the sheriff's office in Louisiana, members of the state police assisted HPD with the arrest just after noon Friday. A SWAT team arrested Sanders without incident.

Neither agency elaborated on how Sanders is connected to Williams nor their relationship. However, Williams' friends told ABC13 they knew each other.

Police said investigators identified Sanders as their suspect and learned he took off to greater New Orleans and stayed at several locations.

On Thursday, Eyewitness News spoke to the victim's friends, who couldn't understand why their beloved Williams was a target of violence.

"She created and made a safe space for everybody, so to think that someone would want to hurt her and have a justified reason is something I cannot fathom," Hope Giselle, Williams' friend, said.