13-year-old hides under clothes as mom’s ex shoots siblings, Texas cops say

Siblings ran and hid as their mother’s angry ex chased and shot them at a Texas apartment complex, authorities say.

The shooting happened Sunday, July 27, in far northwest Houston, according to Harris County court records.

Willie Simpson III, 32, had lived with the children and their mother — his ex — and on the day of the shooting, he sent numerous texts to her asking if he could go into the apartment, investigators say. She told him no, that he wasn’t allowed, a criminal complaint read.

McClatchy News reached out to a public defender listed for Simpson but didn’t immediately receive a response.

Simpson went to the apartment complex anyway, investigators say, and encountered the woman’s sons, 19 and 16, sitting on the stairs near the apartment.

He seemed calm at first, one of the sons told police, but that changed when he called their mother and asked her where she was, according to investigators. Simpson told her to come to the apartment “immediately, or else he would kill her kids,” the complaint said.

The mother called police and then her son, but when her son answered, she could hear him running and out of breath, investigators say.

Right after he called their mother, Simpson told the brothers to go into the apartment or he would shoot them, the 16-year-old told police, according to the complaint. The brothers ran and Simpson opened fire, chasing after them as they went upstairs to the apartment, officials say.

A bullet struck the 19-year-old in the abdomen, according to investigators.

After making it into the apartment, the brothers jumped off a second floor balcony to escape, investigators say.

Moments earlier, their sisters — 13 and 12 — had come upstairs with a friend after being in the pool, officials say, and they were getting changed in the bathroom when the 12-year-old said she heard what sounded like gunfire.

Officials say the older sister went to investigate, locking the bathroom behind her, and soon came face-to-face with Simpson.

She told police he pointed a gun at her and she ran, went into a closet and hid under clothes, records show. He checked the closet but didn’t find her, she told police. But as she hid, she heard Simpson kick open the bathroom door and shoot her sister, according to the complaint.

The younger sister was shot and taken to a hospital in critical condition, officials said. The eldest sibling, who was shot in the abdomen, underwent surgery that required the removal of his spleen.

Simpson was arrested five days later, on Aug. 1, records show, and he’s charged with three counts of aggravated assault of a family member, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and burglary with intent to commit another felony.

This story was originally published August 3, 2025 at 11:59 AM with the headline "13-year-old hides under clothes as mom’s ex shoots siblings, Texas cops say."