PVAMU student dies helping friend in physical fight with boyfriend, Prairie View police say

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (KTRK) -- A Prairie View A&M student is dead, and police say she was shot while trying to help a friend escape from an abusive boyfriend.

Three others were also wounded when shots were exchanged at The Gates of Prairie View at 625 Elm St. Police were called out at about 5:30 a.m. in response to a shooting.

At the scene, officers found a young woman dead with a gunshot wound. Police said the woman was going into her senior year at Prairie View A&M and was friends with another woman involved in the shooting.

Investigators said the situation started when a couple got into a fight at one of their residences. The couple ended up at The Gates at Prairie View apartments, where they got into a physical confrontation.

The woman encountered her friend who lived there and she tried to intervene, Chief Wilton White Jr. told ABC13.

At some point, the friend got her boyfriend, who is a security guard but was not working at the time, to help as well, White said.

The two boyfriends began arguing. That's when police said the man accused of assaulting his girlfriend pulled out a gun and started shooting and hit the other man in the buttocks. Then, investigators said the friend's boyfriend fired back and hit the other man in the chest.

At least one of those bullets struck the woman's friend, who died at the scene. Police said another person's head was grazed by a bullet. That person's involvement in the situation is unclear.

All three people who initially survived were taken to area hospitals.

Investigators said two suspects fled the scene when police arrived but were later detained at another location.

Since both men were armed, police said it's unclear who actually fired the shot that killed the student.

Texas Rangers are assisting Prairie View police in the ongoing investigation.

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.

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