A New Year’s Eve celebration became tragic shortly after midnight when a 61-year-old nurse died after being hit by a stray bullet on a suburban street.
Harris County lawmakers responded to a report of a shooting victim on the 12300 block of May Laurel Drive on Laurel Oaks, just north of Houston, shortly after midnight Wednesday.
Deputies said Philippa Ashford, 61, and her family had unloaded fireworks with their neighbors on the dead-end street when she suddenly shouted that she had been shot with a bullet fired from an unknown location.
Ashford died at the scene with a single shot shortly after the EMS arrived.
Deputies believe Ashford was hit by celebratory shots from outside the immediate neighborhood. The seemingly annual acts of violence on New Year’s Eve have affected the Houston area in recent years.
“Today we add another example of an innocent life taken because of this foolish and reckless behavior. Unfortunately, these deaths are not uncommon, “said Ed Gonzalez, the Harris County sheriff.” Our region has a long history with celebratory traits. “
Investigators explored the area and were unable to locate the source of the shootings, without finding evidence of gunfire from anywhere near the crime scene.
“We have no indication that any family members or anyone on the dead end street were throwing a gun and we walked the streets and scanned up and down to see if we found any bark in the neighborhood and found nothing,” , Said Sgt. Ben Beall, a spokesman for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
On Wednesday afternoon, Laurel Oaks’ cul-sac, where she killed Ashford, was filled with cars, with most visitors paying tribute to Ashford’s family. Neighbors said Ashford had lived in the house for years, but moved at some point in the past five years, leaving the residence to his son, Cornell Porter. Ashford still owned the house at the time of her death, according to property records.
Khalil Muhammad, who lives across the dead end from the house where Ashford died, said Porter welcomed family and friends for the New Year celebration. He was at home with his family around midnight when he heard loud bangs from outside, unable to distinguish a shot amid the cacophony of fireworks.
“We saw flashing lights, about (midnight), everything started to explode around here,” Muhammad said, adding that it was not out of the ordinary for New Year’s Eve celebrations in the neighborhood .
A woman answered at the door of Ashford’s house and refused to comment on the tragedy in order to give time to the family.
For the past twelve years, Ashford has worked as a managing nurse in the Comprehensive Psychiatric Assessment Service at Menninger Clinic, a mental health and addiction treatment center in southwest Houston.
Known as “Phil,” Ashford earned managerial certification in psychiatric nursing, with experience in motivational interviews, mindfulness-based therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and community integration.
Armando Colombo, president and CEO of the Menninger Clinic, said in a statement that the clinic would hold a memorial service in honor of Ashford and provide advice and support to employees affected by his loss.
“The Menninger Clinic community is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Philippa‘ Phil ’Ashford, who was our hospital’s managing nurse and was the leader and mentor of our nursing and clinic team,” Colombo said. “Our heart goes out to his family and friends at this sad time and we offer our support and our deepest sympathy.”
In 2015, Ashford was awarded the Texas Nurses Association’s District 25 Distinguished Nurses Award. She was also an adjunct professor at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston and a member of the Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society and the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority.
Houston police and Harris County lawmakers issued public alerts on New Year’s Eve warning the public not to unload weapons while celebrating. Celebratory traits can be classified as fatal conduct, a felony that carries a penalty of up to $ 4,000 in fines or up to one year in prison.
Despite requests from public officials, these celebrations are a chronic problem in the Houston area every New Year’s Eve. Houston police arrested eight men for firing guns into the air a year ago. In 2015, a man in southeast Houston was killed by a stray bullet while watching New Year’s fireworks. Two city residents were accidentally shot dead on New Year’s Day 1997.
New Year’s lost bullets pose a danger to residents across Texas. State Representative Armando Martinez of Weslaco was struck in the head on January 1, 2017. He underwent surgery, although he survived.
When the legislature met in Austin weeks later, Martinez introduced a bill to turn firing a gun without a intended target. The bill died in committee.
In Austin, just after New Year’s Eve, a woman was nearly hit in the head after a bullet entered East Austin’s home, an Austin police officer said. Senior police officer Bino Cadenas said on Twitter on Wednesday that a bullet went through the woman’s roof at home and nearly hit her while she was sitting on the couch.
And in Cleveland, a man who reportedly said he was shooting rounds to celebrate that the new year accidentally killed his girlfriend.
Gonzalez said one of his priorities in the new year will be a gun reduction program, in an effort to help reduce indiscriminate gunfire and educate homeowners about the dangers of firing their weapons.
“Reminding people of the basic law of physics and the erroneous annual tradition of firing guns into the air,” Gonzalez said. “What goes up must go down. It is a crime and you can kill someone. We need to raise the message that this will not be tolerated in Harris County. ”
The Austin American-Statesman and the New York Times contributed to this report.