PEARLAND, Texas – An unexpected shooting in a quiet Pearland apartment complex is leaving many neighbors full of questions.
"It makes me wonder about the safety of my kids, and stuff like that. Are they going to be okay? Do I have to worry about somebody pointing a gun at them when they come outside?" Quinton McGruder said.
Brenda Kent heard several shots as she sat on her back patio around 1:15 p.m. Tuesday at 2414 County Road 90.
"And I hear a bunch of pop, pop, pop, pop, pop," Kent said.
That gunfire came from the barrels of two Brazoria County deputies guns as they fired on a woman they say pointed a pistol at them first.
"She lowered her weapon towards them, and that's what we would refer to as engaging them," investigator Clint Lobpries said.
Deputies say the woman was shot and killed only after repeated attempts to get her to lower her weapon. While the motivations behind the woman's actions remain a mystery, investigators say the instincts behind the deputies' are clear.
"She pointed a weapon at them, which caused them to react the way they did," Lobpries said.
Kent says she's happy the deputies were there.
"It makes me feel better as far as the officers go that they responded as quick as they did and kept it from getting any worse than what it was," Kent said.
But neighbors say no matter what, it's a heartbreaking end to the Christmas holiday.
"An officer could've been hurt, but now we've got a woman here who is dead, nobody knows what she was going through. It could be mental problems. It could be relationship problems. Anything," McGruder said.
The two veteran deputies have been placed on leave per policy. The Sheriff's Office along with the district attorney's office will both be conducting individual investigations.