Woman Shot in the Hip as Two Gunmen Force Their Way Into an East Houston Apartment, Police Say
A knock asking for change, a rush from the stairwell, and a fight at the door: an HPD lieutenant says a 42-year-old woman was shot in the hip during a home-invasion robbery attempt on Fleming Drive late Tuesday - and that the fleeing suspects left a phone and a pair of shoes behind.
A 42-year-old woman was shot in the hip late Tuesday when two armed men tried to force their way into her east Houston apartment, according to the Houston Police Department. Lt. R. Willkens said officers were called around 11:18 p.m. to the apartment on Fleming Drive, in the Northshore area north of the I-10 East Freeway, FOX 26 Houston reported.
The sequence police described begins with a familiar face. A neighbor the couple knew - the woman lives in the unit with a 52-year-old man - knocked on the door asking for change. As the door opened, two men armed with handguns ran from the stairwell and tried to force their way inside, demanding money, Willkens said. The male resident fought the first intruder at the door, and during that struggle the second gunman fired into the home, striking the woman in the hip.
The attempt then fell apart. The man who had knocked and the suspected shooter ran from the apartment. The resident was still fighting the remaining suspect for his gun when that man also broke away and fled - dropping his shoes and his phone as he ran. The woman was taken to a hospital in stable condition.
No suspect has been identified publicly, and police have released no names or descriptions beyond the account above. What investigators do have, Willkens said, is what the fleeing men left behind: he told reporters police are confident in identifying the suspects using the evidence left at the scene. Anyone with information about the Fleming Drive case can reach Houston police through the department's regular channels; the desk will update this file when police name a suspect or make an arrest, and not before.
