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‘It did not have to happen’: Neighbors said they made several complaints about strip center before deadly shooting

HOUSTON – A barrage of bullets could be heard on a home surveillance video early Saturday morning in a Tanglewilde neighborhood.

It was around the same time police responded to a deadly shooting only blocks away to the parking lot of the business strip along Richmond.

“It’s a nice neighborhood, except for the fact that the shopping center has given us a lot of trouble,” Callie Markantonis, a concerned neighbor said.

An after-hours hookah bar in the strip center now has padlocks on the door and a sign reading permanently closed.

After checking with the Houston Police Department, authorities said since July there have been about a dozen noise complaints at the address, an assault and a shooting over the weekend.

Houston Police responded to reports of a shooting in the 9500 block of Richmond around 6 a.m. Saturday.

RELATED: 1 dead, another injured in shooting at southwest Houston club, police say

Police said Abdallah Babiker, 28, is accused of shooting two people and killing one of them, 21-year-old Asia Shields.

Babiker is now charged with murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the case. According to court documents, he bonded out of jail on Wednesday.

”We knew this was going to happen,” said Markantonis.

Back in May, KPRC 2 reported on neighbor’s concerns in the area after also hearing several gunshots.

“There are gunshots, you know, pretty often on the weekends,” neighbor Michael Garcia said.

Now, less than four months later, a deadly shooting many neighbors said shouldn’t have happened.

”I feel for her family, that’s for sure,” said Garcia.

“It didn’t have to happen. We’ve been complaining about this place for a year,” said Markantonis.


About the Author
Jonathan Martinez headshot

Galveston-born, award-winning journalist, dog owner, foodie & occasional golfer.

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