HCSO: 16-year-old shot, killed in NW Houston

Police lights. (KPRC/File)

HOUSTON – A 16-year-old was shot and killed in northwest Houston, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

On Friday, at approximately 6:45 p.m., Harris County Sheriff’s Office patrol units were dispatched to the 11000 block of Smokehollow Drive in reference to a shooting. The 911 caller stated to dispatchers that he had accidentally shot someone at the location.

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When responding deputies arrived at the scene, they located a 16-year-old victim with a gunshot wound to the head. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Deputies also located Alexander Valenzuela at the scene. Also at the scene was Valenzuela’s sister, who had arrived at the location at the same time as the deputies and rushed inside the house, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies detained both Valenzuela and his sister at the scene.

Homicide Investigators said Valenzuela was uncooperative and noted multiple inconsistencies in his explanation as to how the victim was shot.

Investigators said physical evidence at the scene did not support the possibility of an accidental shooting. Valenzuela’s sister was also interviewed by investigators and gave a different account of the incident that she had received from her brother, apparently prior to him calling 911, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

Following interviews with both Valenzuela and Valenzuela sister, the case was presented to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and Valenzuela was charged with the murder of the victim.

Investigators said the victim and Valenzuela are believed to have been in a dating relationship.

An investigation into the shooting is ongoing.


About the Author

Briana Zamora-Nipper joined the KPRC 2 digital team in 2019. When she’s not hard at work in the KPRC 2 newsroom, you can find Bri drinking away her hard earned wages at JuiceLand, running around Hermann Park, listening to crime podcasts or ransacking the magazine stand at Barnes & Noble.

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