Police captured a man Wednesday believed responsible for killing his supervisor at a Greenway Plaza-area office building, authorities said.
The shooting happened around noon in the 10th floor of the 20 Greenway Plaza building, with the Houston Fire Department initially referring to it as an active shooter incident. Police officials said that was not the case.
Houston police Executive Assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite said the man ignored other employees on the floor and fatally shot his supervisor.
“We do not believe it was random,” Satterwhite said.
Witnesses identified the suspected shooter and police apprehended him in a vehicle at his residence in the 1600 block of Fannin Street, officials said. He surrendered to authorities. No other injuries were reported.
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The investigation dispatched a SWAT team to the building. For about two hours, police searched the building and the surrounding area. Some people were escorted out. Officers at one point entered the parking garage next to the Regal Edwards Greenway Grand Palace movie theater complex.
Connor Franks — who works at the building where the shooting occurred, but on a different floor from where it happened — said someone from his company came to his floor and passed along a message from law enforcement that people should stay in their suites.
He didn’t think anything was really going on. People were sitting around while they waited, huddled in the kitchen, Franks said.
“Then eventually, like probably 15 minutes had passed, nothing was happening,” he said. “So I was like, ‘It must not be super serious.’”
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But when he went back to the kitchen to heat up some fish, the group was gone, he said. Another person in the kitchen told him about the SWAT presence. And then SWAT was on their floor, he said.
“And I was like, ‘Crap, now it’s getting real,’” he said.
They were split into two rooms while law enforcement secured the area, where they waited between 70 to 75 minutes, he said.
People in his room were expecting to get some kind of debriefing about it when they were let out, but that didn’t happen, according to Franks. He said he asked law enforcement on his own about it to learn more.
There was a Houston Police Department media briefing near the scene in the afternoon.
Portions of Norfolk Street, between Weslayan and Cummins Green, were also cordoned off. Drivers and pedestrians were urged to avoid the area.
Nicole Hensley and Leah Brennan contributed to this report.
Joel.Umanzor@chron.com