Houston Police/Twitter Three people were shot and one was killed in an apparent home invasion on Homestead Road in Houston on December 21, 2021, police say.
Three men were shot and one was killed in an apparent home invasion at an apartment complex on Homestead Road in Houston on Tuesday, December 21, 2021, police said. Three masked men are accused of carrying out the robbery, according to police. No arrests have been made. The victims have not been identified publicly.
One of the victims was pronounced dead at the scene and the other two were taken to a hospital by the Houston Fire Department, authorities said. Their conditions were not immediately known. Police said the shooting remains under investigation and few details have been released. The shooting happened about 8 p.m. at 9603 Homestead Road, according to police. Video from the scene showed several police and other emergency vehicles at the apartment complex.
Houston Police said in a press release on December 22 that the victim who was killed was a 35-year-old man. The other victims were a 28-year-old man and a 30-year-old man, police said. They are expected to survive, according to police. The Houston Police Department Homicide Division is investigating.
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Police Say 3 Men Wearing Masks Forced Their Way Into the Home & Shot 3 People Before Fleeing
Houston Police Assistant Chief Belinda Null, of the department’s Criminal Investigations command, said they received a 911 call about a “shooting in progress” about 7:59 p.m. and officers from the department’s North East Division arrived at the scene about 8:06 p.m. and found three people who had been shot.
Null said at the scene, “Two of them were transported and are expected to survive. A third victim was pronounced deceased on the scene. Initial investigation reveals that three males wearing masks forced their way into the apartment in what we suspect was possibly a robbery, and then shot the individuals and fled from the scene.”
Null said, “That’s really what we have right now,” and said the investigation was going to continue into the night and early Wednesday morning. The victim who was killed has not yet been publicly identified by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. Null did not say if the victims knew the robbers or if the apartment where the robbery and shooting occurred was targeted.
A Couple Was Shot in a Home Invasion Robbery Earlier in the Day & Police Have Warned Houston Residents to Be Vigilant After Another Similar Shooting
Null said they have no further description of the robbers other than being three masked males. She added that no one else at the scene was injured. Null said the two surviving victims were being interviewed by investigators to learn more about what happened. She did not provide any additional information. Anyone who knows anything about the case or other unsolved cases in Houston can call the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or CrimeStoppers at 713-222-TIPS, police said.
The home invasion robbery came hours after a man and woman were followed home from a game room and shot in a home invasion and attempted robbery at a house on Harvey Lane. The victims in that shooting, a couple in their 30s, are both expected to survive. Two suspects fled from the scene after that shooting, police said.
When asked about an uptick in home invasion and follow-home robberies, Houston Police Lieutenant Emanuel Pavel said, “Immediately if you see something suspicious, please call the police. The faster you call us and let us know what is occurring we can try to get here as soon as possible. Also try to make sure that when you do drive home, if you see something suspicious, somebody following, a vehicle, the same color vehicle, following you around, I would suggest not to go home, call 911. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”
Pavel added, “Talking to the officers, there was actually a similar incident fititng the same description earlier in the last week. The story is kind of similar, same type of home invasion. So, it is happening. So be on the lookout. See if anybody is following you home. It’s better to be safe than sorry, give us a call and we will try to get there as soon as possible to get catch guys while they are in the act.”
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