HPD finds woman feared kidnapped in northeast Houston

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The missing woman who was at the center of a police investigation was found safe Monday evening. Now investigators are searching for answers into why she was taken.

Families in one northeast Houston neighborhood are still upset but are also relieved that this abduction ended with the victim being found alive and unharmed.

Investigators say at about 11:30am Monday, 29-year-old Elsa Yaneth Munos Romero was running down Shot well Street, madly yelling for help and saying that someone was trying to kill her. She even went to one home and knocked on the door. When the homeowner opened it, he says she threw her Honduran passport at him and was taken into an SUV by a man and a woman.

The witness said both of the man and woman who took her had MS-13 gang tattoos. MS-13 is an particularly violent gang, heavily involved in human trafficking, prostitution and other illegal activity.

"You see little kids running up and down trying to be in gangs, but I've never heard of MS-13 being here in this neighborhood," neighbor Yolanda Gonzales said.

"I've never noticed or seen any violence at all. It's always quiet," neighbor Monica Rios said. At about 7:30 Monday, HPD homicide detectives confirmed they had located Romero unharmed, and they are interviewing her for details about the abduction.

10-year-old boy shot while sleeping in southwest Houston

HOUSTON -- A 10-year-old boy is improving after he was shot as he slept inside his southwest Houston apartment overnight Monday.

The shooting happened at the Summer Crossing apartment complex on Beechnut near Wilcrest. "It sounded like machine guns," said resident Erica Newsome. "It sounded like a series of 10 shots." It's a sound Newsome did not expect to wake up to.

"It was so loud. It sounded like it was right at my door," she said. Police say a gunman opened fire late Monday night in the middle of the southwest Houston apartment complex.

"They were standing right there when they fired off," said eyewitness Tony Lofton "That's where they found all the rounds at."

Bullets struck shutters and a staircase, and shattered windows. At least one bullet penetrated through the wall of apartment 821 and struck the 10-year-old boy who was sleeping in apartment 803. "I saw the little boy today and he's innocent," said eyewitness Mardoqueo Garcia.

Neighbors say the little boy's family called 911 and he was transported to the hospital. Houston police tell us Arzate, who was just an innocent bystander, is expected to be OK. But for now, there are no suspects and no motive for the shooting.

That's frustrating news for many residents who are now worried about their safety. Parents who heard the gunshots are panicked. "It wasn't even my children and we were terrified," said Newsome.

It was terrifying enough for Newsome to move out. "We're moving this week," she said. "This was enough." Investigators say they still don't know who the intended target was. Police had detained someone at the scene but they later determined that person was not connected to the shooting.

Anyone who may know anything is being asked to contact police.

Police officer killed in shootout at Killeen apartment

KILLEEN, TX -- A police officer is dead and another is wounded after a shootout at a Central Texas apartment complex with a man armed with a military-style assault weapon.

The suspect also was killed in the shootout at the Grandon Manor Apartments, near Killeen Mall.Killeen tactical officers went to the complex about midnight Saturday after a man was reported frightening people in the pool with a gun. 

A police statement says officers found the man in an apartment and tried to talk him out when he fired one shot. Police say the man then came to the door with hands up but wouldn't come out. 

He backed deeper the apartment, grabbed the rifle and began shooting at officers, wounding two, one fatally. Other officers killed the suspect. Identities haven't been released.

Tip leads to two arrests in kidnapping case, one man sought

Houston police have arrested two suspects and are asking for the public's help in locating a third suspect wanted for inquiring in the assault and kidnapping of a woman at 8800 Lake Forest Boulevard about 2am on June 30.

Police say a 28-year-old woman was arguing with her boyfriend at a convenience store at 9430 Mesa at Tidwell. She got into a car with three unknown men and was driven around the Lakewood Subdivision.

During this time, police say the woman was physically assaulted and a rape attempt was made before she was able to escape and run away. She suffered non life-threatening injuries.

Police say Roy Dean Griffin, 20, and Delton T. Sidney, 21, are in custody and charged with kidnapping. Justin Darreal Johnson, 20, is wanted for questioning in the case.

The suspects and victim were seen on surveillance video at the Time Saver convenience store on Mesa. After police released that video to the public, a Crime Stoppers tip leads to the identities of the three wanted suspects. Sidney and Griffin were arrested on Monday without incident. Police say Griffin had changed his look and cut his dreadlocks since the day of the incident.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Justin Johnson is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600.

Man Stopped For Speeding on Bridge Jumps Out Of Car into Meramec River, Police Say

A driver pulled over for speeding early morning on Highway 21 parked his car on the bridge over the Meramec River and jumped. He went straight from the vehicle over the edge of the bridge and into the river, Lt. Robert Wolf of the Missouri State Highway Patrol tells Daily RFT this morning, adding, "The search continues."

Wolf says an officer pulled over the driver at about 1:38 a.m. and that there was no pursuit of any kind. But as soon as the car parked, he says, the man jumped out without even opening a door. "The driver slid across to the passenger seat and jumped through the window and into the Meramec River."

Wolf says that a search began immediately for the man and that the Mehlville Fire Protection District, the highway patrol's marine division and police helicopters have all been working to locate the man.

He says that around 5:30 a.m. they were forced off of the water temporarily due to storms, but resumed the rescue task a short while later and have not yet located him. Wolf has no other details at this time to offer about the man and says he can't confirm his identity or whether he was the owner of the vehicle in question.

 There was no clear reason why the man fled. "It was simply a traffic stop for speeding," Wolf says. Based on the Post-Dispatch's latest report, it appears that a dramatic scene is unfolding at the river.

The paper has recognized the driver as Jeff Henning of Fenton, apparently based on testimony from his mother Mary Henning of Imperial. Troopers, the mom told the paper, had called Jeff's father early Wednesday. Relatives are reportedly gathered along the riverbank watching the search.