HOUSTON — A homeowner shot a woman to death after police said she was breaking into cars in the Spring Branch area.
Police said the 26-year-old woman was burglarizing vehicles with a man when a homeowner shot her multiple times. Her body was later found in a ditch on Harland Drive near Antoine Drive.
The guy she was with ran away.
Video surveillance captured a red Toyota Rav 4 driving down Antoine Drive just moments before the shooting happened.
The same red Toyota, now covered with bullet holes, was later seen being towed away.
Houston police questioned two men about the shooting but they were later released. On Tuesday, HPD said the case will be referred to a Harris County grand jury to determine if charges should be filed.
Part of the Texas law known as "the castle doctrine" says you can use deadly force to protect property if it's necessary to prevent "arson, burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, theft during the nighttime or criminal mischief during the nighttime."
One longtime neighbor said he heard multiple shots being fired.
"I was asleep, and I just heard maybe 10 shots,” Jim Blanchard said. "And then I got up and looked out the window, and then my neighbors, who've been there for 20 to 30 years, I saw them come out and look around and then go back in the house."
Police were checking other surveillance cameras in the area for more clues.
“It’s unusual, the neighborhood’s real quiet," Blanchard said. "We have no trouble in this neighborhood at all.”
If you know anything about the man involved in the case, you're asked to call HPD.