An investigation has been launched into the fatal shooting of a 23-year-old woman at 3415 Cline Street in Houston, an incident that occurred on Wednesday afternoon. According to the City of Houston's official news release, the case is slated for review by a Harris County grand jury.
The identity of the deceased is yet to be revealed, awaiting the notification of next of kin by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. As Houston Police Department's Homicide Division Sergeant C. Ponder and Detective L. Patterson informed, the officers arrived at the scene in response to a shooting call and found the woman with at least one gunshot wound. She was transported to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead.
The male shooter at the center of the event told officers that the confrontation began when the woman arrived at his residence and started banging on his front door. Upon entry, she allegedly acted aggressively and damaged his property. He recounted that during a physical altercation, he made a call to 911, and in the midst of this, the woman exited to the back porch to retrieve her personal belongings and allegedly picked up a weapon.
The man claimed that when the woman returned from the back porch with the weapon, he then retrieved his own firearm. He told officials he fired his weapon in response to the woman pointing hers at him. "The male stated he retrieved a weapon and returned to the living room area," as noted by the City of Houston. "He stated the female pointed her weapon at him and he discharged his weapon, striking the female."
After preliminary consultations with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, the decision was made to refer the shooting for grand jury evaluation. Meanwhile, investigators are encouraging anyone with additional information to come forward. Tips can be directed to the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or to Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
