Officers fatally shoot lawyer who opened fire at strip mall; he had law firm 'issues,' police say
Updated: Police on Monday shot and killed a lawyer who had opened fire at a Houston strip mall, sending six people to the hospital, according to Houston police.
Houston Police Chief Martha Montalvo said the suspect is a lawyer with “issues concerning his law firm,” report the Dallas Morning News, the New York Times and the Houston Chronicle.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner confirmed that the slain suspect is lawyer Nathan Desai, according to the Houston Chronicle. Turner said police were interviewing friends and associates of Desai’s and searching his home.
The gunman injured nine people, three of whom were treated at the scene, according to the Times. One of those injured was hospitalized in critical condition and another was in serious condition.
The gunman also fired at authorities when they arrived, but none was injured. The shooting occurred in southwest Houston near a Randall’s grocery store.
Police were investigating a Porsche registered to Desai, whose law firm dissolved about six months ago, ABC13.com reports.
Desai’s former law partner, Kenneth McDaniel, told the Houston Chronicle that the law firm closed because business fell during the recession.
“I’m reading stuff online talking about how he was possibly a fired employee that was disgruntled,” McDaniel told the Chronicle. “That’s the farthest thing from the truth. Our partnership dissolved in February of this year; it was simply a matter of economics. We couldn’t afford to operate as a partnership anymore.”
Updated at 11:15 a.m. to include report from ABC13.com.
