Man and woman dead in apparent murder-suicide

Officers work the scene in the 1500 block of Fellows, where a man and woman were found dead inside a home. Officers work the scene in the 1500 block of Fellows, where a man and woman were found dead inside a home. Photo: Mike Glenn, Chronicle Photo: Mike Glenn, Chronicle Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Man and woman dead in apparent murder-suicide 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

A man fatally shot his girlfriend then killed himself as she was preparing to move out of their south Houston-area home, authorities said.

Houston police went to the home in the 1500 block of Fellows about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday to investigate reports of a shooting in progress.

Authorities at the scene did not identify the man or the woman but said they were both adults.

Family members told Houston police the man was in a heated quarrel with his girlfriend when he suddenly told them to "Get out or he was going to start shooting," police said.

"They heard a number of gunshots as they were leaving," said John Cannon, a Houston police spokesman. "It appears she had been shot several times."

HPD patrol officers arrived and questioned the family members at the scene. They called for the department's SWAT unit because the man was thought to be barricaded inside the house, possibly with several weapons.

As SWAT officers surrounded the home, HPD negotiators tried to contact the man and the woman through their cell phones. But they were unsuccessful.

"We believe he committed suicide after killing his girlfriend," Cannon said.

Although they didn't know where the man was, HPD officials decided to send the SWAT officers into the home in a rescue attempt.

"The priority was to save her," Cannon said.

The SWAT officers forced open the back door after family members told them they believed she could be found in that part of the home.

"A couple of them were able to bring her out while the other guys were covering them," Cannon said.

The SWAT officers brought the woman to the back yard, where she was pronounced dead, police said.

Then officers went back into the home to search for the man. He was found in a front bedroom, dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The motive for the apparent murder-suicide remains under investigation but Houston police said the couple had been having domestic problems. Police noted that a moving trailer was at the home.

"Today was going to be moving out day for her," Cannon said.

Sheriff's detectives are leading the investigation because the home is in a section of unincorporated Harris County, authorities said.