SWAT scene ends after man suspected in estranged wife’s slaying shoots himself

By Samantha Ketterer, Keri Blakinger, and Godofredo Vasquez

Updated 10:22 am, Monday, May 14, 2018

A SWAT standoff ended Monday morning after a man accused of killing his wife in Harris County drove to Fort Bend and shot himself after holing up in a Katy apartment complex, Fort Bend Sheriff Troy Nehls said.

He was rushed to the hospital, but authorities did not immediately identify him and it’s not clear whether he’s expected to survive. He is in “very serious condition,” Nehls said.

Tipped off by a phone call from a worried relative afraid the man would kill himself, a Fort Bend SWAT team responded before 7 a.m. to 2425 Katy-Flewellen, an apartment complex just south of Interstate 10.

There, they found a man barricaded inside the building. After hours of attempting to negotiate without making any actual contact, a SWAT team released gas canisters into the apartment around 9:30 a.m. and then forced their way inside. Officers found him on the ground near the door, Nehls said.

First responders carried him out on a stretcher and he was flown to the hospital with one self-inflicted gunshot wound, deputies said. It is unclear whether the man shot himself before or after the SWAT team arrived on the scene.

The man had fled the scene of an earlier slaying in Harris County in the 21101 block of Kingsland, authorities believe.

His estranged wife was leaving for work around 4:30 a.m., when her ex approached her as she crossed the parking lot with her new boyfriend, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

It’s not clear if the former lovers exchanged any words before the estranged husband allegedly pulled out a gun and opened fire. It’s not clear how many times the woman was shot, but deputies said her new boyfriend was not hurt and that no one else was in danger.

“This is an isolated incident,” Lt. Chris Sandoval said. “There are no other shooters that are running around the apartment complex or in the area.”

Afterward, the suspected shooter drove a few miles away to the Fort Bend location. The caller who alerted authorities said her brother was threatening to kill himself and had admitted to killing his wife, who was around 30.

The Fort Bend sheriff’s office alerted Katy ISD police to the situation unfolding as students were starting to head to school. Wood Creek Junior High is less than one mile away from the SWAT scene.

By 8 a.m., the SWAT team was still looking to negotiate with the man but was hesitant to move too quickly because of heavy activity in the area, Nehls said.

“This is a busy intersection, a lot of children in the apartment complex,” the sheriff said. “We wanted all the children to be on the buses and out, out of this apartment complex.”

The estranged couple appeared to have a recent history of domestic violence, Nehls said. As recently as last week, they both filed complaints at the county’s Katy court annex, although the nature of those complaints is unclear, he said.

They have a 2-year-old together, as well as children from previous relationships, Nehls said. Those children are all safe.

Sandoval encouraged anyone in a domestic violence situation to seek help from their sheriff’s office or local law enforcement.

“You don’t have to face that situation alone;  you can get help,” he said. “We want to prevent these types of situations from taking place because they happen far too often.”