Houston officer kills shooting spree suspect who wounded friends, brother

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A man who seemed hell bent on hurting his friends and family was gunned down by a Houston police officer Friday after a shooting spree left three people wounded, authorities said.

The rampage began around 4:30 p.m. when the 32-year-old shot and wounded his brother who had dropped him off at their sister's home in the 100 block of East 44th Street in Independence Heights, police said. He was taken to Ben Taub Hospital.

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said the unidentified gunman opened fire with a semi-automatic pistol "without provocation or warning."

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He then shot a friend repeatedly in the legs moments after he arrived in a separate vehicle, Acevedo said. Paramedics took the man to St. Joseph Medical Center after officers applied a tourniquet to his wounds.

He then shot another friend, who was rushed to St. Joseph Hospital.

The shooter turned his attention to his sister next as she went outside to stop him, according to the police chief. The siblings struggled for the weapon near Yale Street and the gun was knocked from his hands. He picked up the weapon and shot at a passing pickup truck. No one inside the vehicle was hurt.

"She's got kids. Thank God he didn't shoot her," Acevedo said.

The agency identified first-year Officer Joshua Sheen as the one who confronted the shooter and repeatedly told him to drop the weapon. The rookie fatally shot him in the front yard after he failed to do so.

Acevedo watched the footage from the officer's body cam and commended Sheen for his composure.

"We don't know what was going on with this young man," the chief said. "We don't know what happens to people, what goes on in their minds and hearts."

A woman who identified herself as one of the suspect's sisters hysterically cried out as Acevedo spoke. "Y'all killed my brother," she screamed, as relatives held her back. "Put me in a police car. You're lying."

The chief expressed understanding to her. He noted that the suspect's father and a different sister were among the witnesses.

"This community got to watch a man lose his mind for whatever reason and start shooting people," Acevedo said.

Neighbor Rick Marsh saw the suspect dart past him as he went to get gas moments before the police shooting. He heard the officers repeatedly tell him to drop his gun. "If he had dropped the gun like police told him, he would still be alive today," Marsh said.

It was not immediately known if the shooter could possess a weapon or where he obtained it.

Jay R. Jordan contributed to this report.

nicole.hensley@chron.com