An unidentified young man was shot and killed in the parking lot of an apartment building in northwest Houston on August 15. At around 7:45 p.m., police were called to the Innsbruck Lemoyne Apartments complex on the 4600 block of Sherwood on reports of a shooting. After arriving, they found a young adult male dead with multiple gunshot wounds in the parking lot.
Witnesses said that there was a group of three men attempting to rob the victim. The victim walked away, and at least one of the men followed him, pulled out a gun, and shot him in the back multiple times. Police said the men stole a wallet and cell phone from the victim.
The alleged perpetrators fled the parking lot in a black BMW or Mercedes. The victim has not been identified and no arrests have been made.
There were another two armed robberies in northwest Houston on the same night as the apartment complex shooting.
The first was reported at around 11:45 p.m. near Highway 290 and 43rd Street. Two men entered a hotel room and robbed a resident at gunpoint, taking an unknown amount of cash.
The second robbery took place at around 12:15 a.m. Thursday. Two gunmen approached a man in his truck at a gas station parking lot on Hempstead and held him at gunpoint in an attempted robbery. The man claimed he had nothing to give him, and shots were fired. The man wasn't injured and the gunmen fled on foot.
Attorney contributor Anjali Nigam speaks on liability in violent incidents at apartment complexes:
The owners of apartment complexes and other housing buildings have an obligation to keep their residents safe. This includes guarding against any foreseeable criminal activity.
In apartment complexes with a history of violent crime, the owner may be considered negligent if they fail to take preventative measures to reduce the risk of crime, such as:
If a property owner's negligence enabled a violent crime to occur, then the victim (or their family in cases of fatal violence) may have grounds for a lawsuit against ownership. Establishing negligence and liability is a complex process which will require assistance from an experienced crime victim lawyer.