Police, Texas Rangers investigating shooting of state senator's Houston office

Texas Rangers investigate the scene of an overnight shooting at State Senator John Whitmire's office along Yale Street, Thursday, March 10, 2016, in Houston. No one was injured in the shooting that occurred shortly after midnight. less Texas Rangers investigate the scene of an overnight shooting at State Senator John Whitmire's office along Yale Street, Thursday, March 10, 2016, in Houston. No one was injured in the shooting that occurred ... more Photo: Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle Photo: Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close Police, Texas Rangers investigating shooting of state senator's Houston office 1 / 17 Back to Gallery

A gunman opened fire on the Heights office of one of the state's most powerful lawmakers early Thursday, spraying the stately wood structure with bullets but not injuring anyone.

Whitmire said his staff noticed the Yale Street office had been damaged when they arrived Thursday morning and first blamed the overnight storms. When a maintenance worker tried to stop a leak on the side of the house, they realized it was a bullet hole, then discovered several others.

"When you look at the damage, and start tracing it, there are bullet holes here in the office, and at least four slugs... a couple of them ricocheted around," Whitmire said, adding that police told they believe the bullets had been shot from an AR-15 rifle. "There are bullet slugs everywhere. One lodged in a framed picture. It's pretty amazing."

The Houston Police Department and the Texas Rangers are investigating the incident.

"No one was injured and the building was unoccupied," HPD Spokesman Kese Smith said.

Police are trying to determine whether any surveillance cameras recorded the incident, Smith said, adding that 9-1-1 call logs show a neighbor reported hearing a "loud banging sound or possible gun shots" at around 12:30 a.m.

"This is alarming - because of the the unknowns,"" Whitmire said, adding that police were investigating recent interactions he'd had with the public that might have been out of the ordinary, including an exchange he'd had with a man at a restaurant in Montrose the night before. "I guess have to assume intended for my office until you know for certain... but what do you different?"

Throughout the day, small clusters of curious neighbors gathered outside the office, a two-story house with white wood siding, watching watch police and Texas Rangers comb the scene.

One bullet had torn through a transom supporting the structure's wrap-around porch, ricocheting into the front of the structure. Bullets had also smashed through a window above the front door, a shutter, and through the side wall of the house.

Several onlookers said they'd been startled or woken by the early-morning gunfire.

Amy Crouser was asleep her apartment in a gated-apartment complex across the street when the shots jolted her awake.

"I was startled. It takes a second to figure where you are, let alone what you are hearing," said Crouser, whose 6-year-old and mother were asleep in the apartment with her. At first, the noise sounded like thunder, or someone banging on her garage door, she said. It took her several moments before she realized the sounds were gunfire.

"My heart was pounding," she said. "It sounded like it was in our community, like it was someone in there, banging on our garage."

Other neighbors reported hearing a second spate of shots minutes later, but police were unable to confirm those details.

Rick Edwards, another neighbor, said that when he heard the shots, he ran into his bathroom and called 911.

"It scared my dog and it scared me," he recalled, describing sounds like "someone had a baseball bat and they were hitting a metal garbage pail."

Whitmire, the "Dean" of the Texas Senate, has served as a state senator for more than 30 years, and is one of the state's most powerful legislators.

News of the shooting spread quickly across the state, alarming legislators and political groups.

"Praying for safety of my friend ... and his staff," tweeted State Rep. Armando Walle, D-Houston. "And all staff who work in our offices across TX."

The incident highlighted concerns legislators face keeping their staffers safe, and the risks they have working in high-profile jobs, said Walle, recalling his days as a legislative staffer working for Congressman Gene Green (D-Houston) during the anthrax scare of 2001 and the highly publicized confrontations between open carry advocates who filmed legislators during the last legislative session.

"I've never feared for my safety personally," he said. "But I've never had my office get shot up.

Chronicle staff photographer Mark Mulligan contributed to this report.