Brother fatally shoots brother in Gulfgate home dispute over guns

A fight over guns in a Gulfgate home turned deadly Friday night, when one brother shot and killed the other during a family disturbance on Craigmont Street near Telephone Road. Officers were called around 8 p.m. and found a chaotic scene involving several weapons, with investigators still working to piece together who had which gun at what point.

Court documents identified the men as Guillermo Hernandez, Jr. and Luis Hernandez. Guillermo Hernandez, Jr. fled after the shooting and was later taken into custody; Luis Hernandez died at the scene in the 2500 block of Craigmont. Guillermo Hernandez, Jr. was being held in the Harris County Jail and was due in court Monday morning for a preliminary appearance.

The shooting unfolded in Gulfgate/Pine Valley, a neighborhood inside Loop 610 south of the Gulf Freeway that is cut by Telephone Road, older highways, a rail line and Brays Bayou. Telephone Road is a commercial and residential corridor, with safety work tied in part to its crash history.

Johns Hopkins’ Center for Gun Violence Solutions counted at least 186 domestic-violence-related homicides in Texas in 2022, 66 percent by firearm. It counted 4,561 gun deaths in Texas in 2023 overall.

Houston Area Women’s Center’s 24/7 hotline at 713-528-2121 connects callers to safety planning, shelter and legal referrals, and the National Domestic Violence Hotline offers free, confidential support around the clock at 800-799-SAFE, by text at START to 88788 or through online chat. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline says a gun in the home raises the risk of homicide for women by 500 percent.