911 caller fatally shoots alleged intruder at Grant Road apartment

A man called 911 and fatally shot an alleged intruder inside a north Harris County apartment on Sunday, Aug. 16, while a 3-year-old girl was present, the Harris County Sheriff's Office said.

Deputies responded around 2:30 p.m. to a shooting call at an apartment complex off Grant Road near the Cypress area, in the Constable Precinct 4 service area that covers Spring and Cypress, according to ABC13, citing HCSO Sgt. Sofia Silva. The caller told dispatchers another man was trying to break into his girlfriend's apartment. The woman was not home at the time.

While the caller was still on the line with 911, gunshots could be heard, Sgt. Silva said.

When deputies arrived, they found a man dead inside the unit. The caller told deputies his location within the apartment, and investigators took him into custody at the scene.

HCSO said it believes the 911 caller is the current boyfriend of the woman who lives there, and the dead man was her ex-partner. All three adults involved are in their mid-20s, according to Sgt. Silva. No names have been released.

The sheriff's office confirmed a documented family violence history at that specific apartment address.

A 3-year-old girl had been with the alleged intruder at the time of the shooting. HCSO said the child has since been reunited with her mother, the woman who lives in the apartment.

No charges filed

"As far as whether the 911 caller will face any charges, that's to be determined," Sgt. Silva told ABC13. "Deputies are gathering evidence and will present it to the District Attorney's Office, which will decide whether to file charges."

Texas' Castle Doctrine allows residents to use deadly force against someone unlawfully entering a home without a duty to retreat. The Harris County District Attorney's Office will make the final charging decision.

The specific apartment complex has not been identified by name.