Police said the off-duty trooper shot his Houston neighbor through a closed door, striking him in the shoulder.
An off-duty officer in Houston shot his Black neighbor through a closed door, thinking that he may have been an intruder, officials said. Authorities said the shooter was not affiliated with the Houston Police Department, but that he was a Texas Highway Patrol trooper. They did not disclose his name.
"That trooper believed that a suspect was trying to break into his apartment. He discharged his weapon one time and struck the suspect on the right shoulder," HPD Assistant chief Yasar Bashir said in a media briefing. Police do not yet have clear answers as to why the trooper thought the man — who lives on the premises — was trying to break in. They said there was no evidence of forced entry, but that the trooper did make several commands from the door before shooting.
Residents told CNN it is hard to tell things apart in the building because the floors and units look the same from the outside. One even said they've tried to enter the wrong unit before.Police said they are still in the early stages of the investigation. The incident is the latest in a string of cases in which officers have shot members of the public outside their residences when it was unclear why they were there. The incidents often spark conversations about race and policing.
In a prior Texas incident, ex-Dallas police officer Amber Guyger was found guilty of murder when she shot her Black neighbor Botham Jean after mistakenly walking into his apartment instead of her own. Her defense argued she thought she was in her own apartment and mistook him for an intruder.Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com
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