HOUSTON – Police are searching for a man who sexually assaulted a woman and then shot her husband in northwest Houston.
The crime happened around 7:45 p.m. Thursday at a townhouse on the 7900 block of Elllinger. Houston police say the couple had returned home and were unloading their vehicle when a stranger approached them and demanded their money.
Officials said the man forced the husband and wife inside their home while pointing a gun at them. Investigators say the suspect sexually assaulted the woman and shot the man in the head.
One neighbor said the woman ran to his home looking for help.
"'Call 911! Call 911!,'" neighbor Raymond Garcia said the woman yelled at his door. "'My husband - He's been shot in the head.'"
The suspect then drove off in the couple's vehicle, but abandoned it about 50 feet down the road.
Garcia said after calling police, he followed the woman back to her home.
"I went in there and there's blood in the living room," Garcia said. "There was a lot of blood in the kitchen. I followed her all the way to the garage and he was sitting against the wall and he was holding a rag to his head. Then he laid down on the concrete floor and I thought he was gone."
Both victims were taken to Ben Taub General Hospital for treatment. The man was transported in critical condition. His wife was treated and released.
"It's terrible," the victim's brother said. "I'd just seen him on Tuesday and he's a good man. This is horrible."
Police released a composite sketch of the suspect Friday, much to the relief of the victim's family.
"I can feel a little bit better if people help him get caught," the victim's brother said, requesting anonymity.
The suspect is described as a Hispanic male in his 20s, about 6 feet tall and weighing about 170 pounds with a thin build.
While police continue their investigation, they ask that anyone with information about this case to call the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.