Two brothers were shot and killed outside their Texas home while trying to protect their neighbor from her irate boyfriend, who turned the gun on himself afterward, police said.
Edward and Luis Lopez-Robles were in their Houston home Friday night when their neighbor and her two teenage boys came running over following a domestic violence incident with her boyfriend, Carlos Guerra, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
The woman and her boys went inside the brothers’ home and Guerra soon followed.
He allegedly came knocking at their door to confront the mother, who was not publicly named. Edward, 50, and Luis, 31, met him outside to try to keep him away from the woman.
But the suspect immediately opened fire, killing both men, before a third brother rushed outside with his own pistol to help his fallen siblings, police said.
After a shootout with the third brother, Guerra fled back into his home, where he fatally shot himself, according to the sheriff.
The woman, her children, and the third Lopez-Robles brother were not injured in the incident, with all four people cooperating with Harris County officials.
The sheriff’s office noted that there had been a call from the suspect’s home about a family violence incident just days before the deadly shooting.
Police did not elaborate on the details of the phone call.
Neighbor Alberto Hernandez told Fox 26 that he was shocked such a grizzly case took place in his neighborhood as he mourned his two neighbors.
“I saw the bodies lying on the ground,” Hernandez said of the aftermath.
“I haven’t been able to sleep,” he added. “It was 3 in the morning and their bodies were still lying on the ground.”
If you or someone you know is in danger of domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or Safe Horizon at 1-800-621-HOPE.