Local boxer gunned down inside NW Harris Co. restaurant by 61-year-old man who turned gun on himself
HOUSTON - "My brother was a celebrity boxer here from Houston, Texas, born and raised here in Houston," said Cherice Westpiere, Maurenzo Smith's sister.
Fans of local boxing probably know the name Maurenzo Smith.
MORE CRIME-RELATED NEWS COVERAGE
"He's been into boxing ever since his teenage years," said Smith's sister, Ida Carter.
Smith was at the Crab Station Oyster Bar at 4505 FM 1960 in northwest Harris County at around noon Wednesday with a 29-year-old female friend.
She was at the restaurant to finalize her divorce from her 61-year-old husband.
After about a 20-minute talk that didn't go well, deputies say the husband left the restaurant, came back a short time later, and opened fire with two guns.
"When he returned, he shot the male she was with multiple times, and he attempted to shoot her, but he missed," said Harris County Sheriff's Office Major Susan Cotter.
Officials provide details on deadly shooting in northwest Harris County, where shooter turned gun on himself
Major Susan Cotter with the Harris County Sheriff's Office shared preliminary details on a deadly shooting at a northwest Harris County restaurant, where a man was killed and the suspect reportedly turned the gun on himself moments after he was confronted by deputies.
The husband's deadly actions came as a shock to Smith's sisters.
"He did talk to him yesterday. I don't know the conversation. But when my brother got off the phone, he said that everything was OK, the gentleman was a cool guy," Carter said.
"My brother was like an innocent bystander. He was just trying to help. She was not his girlfriend, that's very misleading information. He was just trying to help someone."
FOLLOW THE LATEST HARRIS COUNTY NEWS
"A couple of years ago, we lost our mother. He lost his wife, and now we have lost our brother," said Westpiere.
After shooting Smith, the husband shot himself in the head. Deputies say he's not expected to survive.
"This was the last restaurant me, my sister, and my brother ate at," Westpiere said. "This was the last day we saw him at this particular restaurant, on June 17. This is the same very restaurant my brother was killed. It's very tragic for me and my family."
No one else inside the restaurant was injured, and only about five or six people were present (including the employees) during the incident.
An investigation remains underway.