Police said the shooting followed repeated complaints about a man entering backyards and unfinished homes.
HOUSTON, TX — A homeowner fatally shot a man Wednesday night in a northeast Houston subdivision after police said a confrontation over alleged trespassing turned physical near the 9600 block of Tidwell.
The shooting is being investigated by the Houston Police Department and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. Police said no charges had been announced as of Thursday, May 14, and the homeowner was cooperating with investigators. The dead man had not been publicly identified. Authorities described him as a man in his 30s who appeared to be homeless.
Officers were first called to the area for a report of a suspicious person inside a newer housing development, police said. Some homes in the neighborhood are occupied, while others remain under construction. Houston Police Lt. R. Willkens said residents had complained for weeks about a man walking through backyards and going into unfinished houses. “He was trying to run him off and get him to leave,” Willkens said of the homeowner’s first confrontation with the man. Police said the man initially left but later returned through a wooded area near Tidwell that leads into the subdivision.
The homeowner told police he first saw the man in his backyard earlier in the day, and another witness also reported seeing the man near private property. Investigators said the homeowner later confronted him outside a vacant home and tried to make him leave the neighborhood. Police said the second encounter happened near a wooded section on the edge of the development. The homeowner told officers the man attacked him during that encounter. He then pulled a pistol and fired, police said. The man ran away after the shooting, and the homeowner later said he was not sure whether the gunfire had struck him.
Officers were already in the area because of the suspicious person call when the homeowner flagged them down, police said. The homeowner told officers he may have shot an intruder. Police searched the area and found the man dead in a ditch near a playground. Investigators have not released the man’s name, whether he had any weapon, or the exact number of shots fired. Police also have not released the homeowner’s name. The Harris County medical examiner is expected to confirm the man’s identity and cause and manner of death after an autopsy.
The case centers on a new subdivision along Tidwell near Balsam, where residents told police they had been dealing with repeated trespassing. Police said the man had been seen walking through backyards and entering homes still being built. That setting is part of the investigation because officers are reviewing what happened before the shooting, where each person was during the confrontation and whether the homeowner’s account matches evidence found at the scene. Investigators also are expected to examine witness statements from nearby residents who reported seeing the man in the neighborhood before the shooting.
HPD homicide investigators will prepare findings for review by the district attorney’s office. Prosecutors will decide whether the case should result in charges, be declined or be presented to a grand jury. Police said the homeowner remained at the scene and cooperated with officers. No arrest had been reported Thursday. Investigators had not said whether any surveillance video from nearby homes, construction areas or the playground had been recovered. Police also had not said whether prior trespassing calls from the same subdivision will be included in the final case file.
The shooting left a wooded edge of the subdivision and a nearby ditch as key parts of the scene. Police said the man ran after being shot, while the homeowner went looking for him because he did not know whether the shots had hit anyone. Officers later found the man dead during their search. Willkens said the case remained active, with detectives working through witness accounts and physical evidence. Authorities did not report any injuries to the homeowner. Residents’ earlier reports of trespassing are expected to be reviewed as investigators build a timeline of the night.
The investigation remained open Thursday, May 14. The next major steps are identification of the man who was killed, completion of the medical examiner’s findings and a charging review by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
Author note: Last updated May 14, 2026.