HOUSTON (AP) — A 25-year-old man has been charged with capital murder in the shooting deaths of three people and the wounding of two others inside a suburban Houston apartment, authorities announced Thursday.
The Harris County Sheriff's Office said Johnathan Sanchez, also known as "J Boi," remains a fugitive.
A young man and two young women died Wednesday after each was shot multiple times, including in the head, at the Peppermill Place Apartments in an unincorporated area 25 miles northwest of downtown Houston.
The two survivors of the gunfire remained hospitalized Thursday at Memorial Hermann-Texas Trauma Institute. Hospital spokeswoman Alex Rodriguez declined to release their conditions.
Authorities have not released the names of those killed and injured in the shooting. All of the victims were in their late teens to early 20s. In a letter posted on residents' doors Thursday, the apartment building's management said the victims did not live there.
A motive has also not been disclosed by investigators. But authorities found firearms and a substance that appeared to be an illegal drug inside the apartment.
Authorities allege Sanchez shot the victims inside the one-bedroom downstairs apartment, closed the apartment door and fled.
The victims were all seated when the gunfire started. There were no signs of forced entry or struggle, said Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia.
There was no evidence that anyone besides the shooter was armed and fired any shots, the sheriff said.
Neighbors heard no sounds indicating a struggle or other disturbance before the shots, Garcia said.
The shooting happened in a cluster of apartment complexes. Some residents say the area has seen an increase in drug activity and car break-ins in recent years.
Court records show Sanchez had been awaiting trial after being charged with robbing a bakery in September 2012.
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