'God spared her life': Woman shot by boyfriend survives as Harris County sees a violent 24 hours

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- In a 24-hour span, the Harris County Sheriff's Office responded to two separate attempted murder-suicides. In one of those incidents, a 6-year-old child witnessed the violence involving her parents.

A 34-year-old woman remains hospitalized after being shot by her boyfriend inside an apartment on North Houston Rosslyn. Her sister says the woman was shot near the eye, and doctors are hopeful they may be able to save it.

Because of the sensitivity of the case, ABC13 is not identifying the woman.

However, her sister, Alexia Morgan, said she wanted to speak out following the recent string of violence.

"It could have been worse. My sister, she could not have been here, but God spared her life," Morgan said.

Deputies say the shooting happened Monday morning and appeared to be an attempted murder-suicide. The woman was found on the floor with a gunshot wound. The man, identified by the medical examiner as Sherman Jamar Gibson, was found dead from what investigators believe was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Their 6-year-old daughter was inside the apartment at the time.

Morgan said her sister, normally full of life, is now facing a long recovery.

"She does have a lot of swelling, and we're praying the swelling goes down. If it does and God spares everything, then she will have a testimony, and she will have a long road to recovery," Morgan said.

While family members had concerns about the relationship, described as "on and off," Morgan said they never expected it to turn violent.

"No, however, he was an introverted person," she said when asked if she thought he was capable of something like this.

The incident came just hours before another attempted murder-suicide early Tuesday morning on Cicada Road. Deputies say SWAT officers had to be called to the scene. The male shooter survived, but the woman involved did not.

Following the two cases, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez emphasized the importance of domestic violence awareness on social media.

"Every incident like this reinforces a hard truth: preventing violence before it starts matters," he wrote. That means paying attention to warning signs, having courage to ask for help, and strengthening the connections between community outreach, mental health support, and early intervention."

Morgan said her sister had planned to end the relationship with Gibson after more than six years together and wishes it had happened sooner. She hopes sharing her sister's story will encourage others in similar situations to put their safety first.

"Everyone needs to be aware of taking care of themselves, the safety for themselves. Some women straddle the fence thinking, 'Oh, we'll be fine.' I'm sure there's someone sitting on the couch going through a similar thing. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by walking away," Morgan said.

If you need help getting out of a domestic violence situation, call the Houston Area Women's Center 24/7 hotline at 713-528-2121 or call AVDA at 713-224-9911. You can also click here to chat with an advocate online. If you are deaf or hard of hearing and need help, call 713-528-3625.

For more on this story, follow Jessica Willey on Facebook, X and Instagram.