Man fatally shoots mother, locks 2-year-old inside bedroom at NE Houston home before shooting himself in Louisiana

HOUSTON – A mother was found dead and her 2-year-old son was found locked inside a bedroom at a northeast Houston home on Monday afternoon, police said.

Investigators with Houston police are at the scene in the 24500 block of Fir Ridge Court near Kingwood.

According to HPD Assistant Chief Patricia Cantu, officers received a call for a welfare check at the northeast Houston home. When they arrived, no one answered the door.

At around 12:45 p.m., officers received a second call for a welfare check at the same home. This time, a woman, identified as the suspect’s daughter, accompanied the officers and opened the front door.

Once inside, they discovered two bedroom doors locked with string wire wrapped around the doorknobs. Slight whimpers were heard from one of the two doors.

Officers were able to cut the wire from the doors, and inside the room, there was a 2-year-old boy. He appeared to be unharmed.

While the boy was whisked away to safety, officers forced entry to the other bedroom, and that was when the mother’s body was found.

Cantu said the mother appeared to be in her 40s.

Investigators said the suspect called his daughter and told him he was en route to Louisiana and had “killed his girlfriend,” according to Cantu.

When the suspect, who was not identified at this time, arrived in Louisiana, he was stopped by police in Port Allen, near Baton Rouge. That was when police said, he pulled out a gun and fatally shot himself.

Cantu clarified that the suspect is not the father of the 2-year-old boy He was taken to a local hospital to be checked out and is in good condition.

It was unclear what led to the incident.

“We’re asking for prayers for the family, this is a difficult situation,” Cantu said. “We are glad the child is okay, at least somebody survived in the house.”