HOUSTON -- A man sent an e-mail containing his obituary to his friends and family before a shooting at a Galleria-area apartment complex on Monday, officials told KPRC Local 2.

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Slideshow: Galleria-Area Apartment Shooting

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Houston police said the shooting happened in the front office of The Post Oak at Woodway on North Post Oak Lane near Woodway Drive at about 1 p.m.

Investigators said David Howard Thurm, 48, pistol-whipped a process server who delivered an eviction notice and then shot his next-door neighbor. The neighbor was transported to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

A resident called the office and realized that something horrific was happening.

“It just seemed frantic from the standpoint of they sounded like they just couldn’t speak, but they didn’t give any reason,” resident Vince Rachal said.

Thurm fatally shot apartment manager Laura Schoellmann, police said. Detectives said she may have saved other lives before she was killed by warning her co-workers to stay away.

Schoellmann’s friends said Thurm had threatened her verbally and physically in the past few weeks.

Thurm killed himself inside the office, detectives said.

“I’m very sorry to inform you that Dave Howard Thurm passed away (died) on 4-23-07,” Capt. Dwayne Ready read from the e-mail Thurm sent. “This is not a joke.”

Thurm moved into the complex in 2006, police said.