Man shot by DPS trooper may have mistaken downtown apartment for his own, complex's owner says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A man was shot by his neighbor, who's a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper, in a downtown Houston high-rise early Monday morning.

Houston Police Department Asst. Chief Yasar Bashir said the shooting happened just after midnight at 500 Crawford, which is across the street from Minute Maid Park.

When Houston police arrived at the scene, the DPS trooper told them he was inside his own apartment when the man tried to break in. However, the building's ownership group, Finger Companies, said it believes the incident to be a case of one resident mistaking another's apartment as his own.

It's unclear how long the man was trying to get in, but HPD said it ended when the trooper opened fire, shooting through his front door one time and hitting the man in the shoulder.

In a statement, Finger Companies wrote that the two men appear to have the same apartment but one floor apart.:

"At approximately 12:20 a.m. this morning (September 25th), an incident occurred involving two residents at 500 Crawford Apartments.

The Houston Police Department investigation is still ongoing, but at this point, we believe the incident to be a case of one resident mistaking another resident's apartment as their own. While the first resident attempted to gain access to the wrong apartment, the other resident - who we are told is a member of local law enforcement - fired through the door, striking the resident in the shoulder.

It is our understanding that the resident who was injured is in stable condition at a local hospital.

The Finger Companies is fully cooperating with the HPD investigation and will release additional information as it becomes available."

Bashir said the trooper shot his neighbor through the door after giving verbal commands.

"The suspect, we believe, was trying to get into the apartment, and the trooper did give several commands to him to get away, and we believe he still tried to make entry," Bashir said.

The man ran down the hallway, and officers later found him with a wound in his shoulder on a different floor. Officers applied two tourniquets and the man was taken to the hospital.

Bashir said he is expected to live. Police gave little description of the man, who was only identified as a Black man in his 30s.

Police did not immediately charge the injured man, who they confirmed lives in the same building as the state trooper.

Residents shared photographs with ABC13 showing how similar each floor looks.

One resident who asked ABC13 to remain anonymous explained that he's also mistakenly tried to enter the wrong unit in the past.

"(I) tried to use my key on the unit that's one floor above," the resident said. "It's pretty easy to do here because every floor, every hallway, looks pretty much the same."

With deadbolted doors and key fob entry, he told ABC13 the shooting didn't sit right with him. He is confused as to why things didn't end in a conversation.

"It still doesn't make me feel great that potentially in the case of myself going on to the wrong floor, using my key in the wrong apartment. I just don't want that happening to me," he said.

A spokesperson for DPS told ABC13 the agency is declining to name the trooper involved at this time. A public information officer for HPD, the lead investigation agency, told ABC13 they are honoring the agency's request.

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