HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — The Harris County Medical Examiner has identified the woman shot and killed on Rusty Ridge Lane as 32-year-old Monae Brooks, a mother of two.
ABC13 found that several events took place before the tragic shooting witnessed by Brooks’ children.
On Wednesday at around 10 a.m. in the Highland Creek Ranch neighborhood, home security cameras recorded what looked like a woman walking with a gun. This led a homeowner to call the police. The homeowner said officers later reviewed the footage and confirmed it was their neighbor, Brooks.
Investigators said that before the shooting, Brooks called law enforcement herself, asking to make a police report.
“A woman was reporting that there was a bullet that had been left on top of her vehicle,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.
Brooks’ mother spoke over the phone with ABC13 and said Brooks had been struggling with her mental health in the days leading up to the shooting.
Investigators said that as a deputy arrived in the neighborhood to take the report, calls about a shooting started coming in.
Authorities said Brooks was driving with her 8-year-old daughter, 4-year-old son, and their dog when she came across a van pulling a trailer.
Video captured by surveillance cameras showed the van pulling over to let Brooks pass, but she stopped her car and started yelling at the other driver.
Investigators said Brooks eventually took a pistol from her car, which led the other driver to grab his own gun and shoot her.
“She was gasping for air,” witness Omar Velazquez said.
Velasquez said he ran outside when he heard the gunshots and saw the two young children crying in the car.
“How do you even react to something like that at that young of an age?” Velasquez said.
The sheriff’s office says it appears Brooks and the other driver did not know each other. After the shooting, the van driver called 911 and cooperated with the investigation. The sheriff’s office has not said whether any charges will be filed.
Brooks’ mother said she is heartbroken over what happened and is still trying to put all the pieces together.
CPS said the children have been placed with family.
This story comes from our news partner ABC13 Houston.