A man and a woman are dead following an apparent murder-suicide inside a downtown Houston hotel lobby.
Houston police said the shooting took place at the Marriott Marquis at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Witnesses to the shooting told KPRC-TV in Houston they heard two shots.
Malina Jara and Peter Maher were visiting Houston from Virginia. The pair were looking for souvenirs when they told KPRC a hotel employee ran into the gift shop and locked the door behind her. She said the employee said there was an active shooter and they needed to hide.
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Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said a man in his late 30s and a woman in her late 20s arrived at the hotel separately but were carrying suitcases.
Finner said the man and woman were speaking before he pulled out a gun and fatally shot her. He then killed himself, Finner said.
The identities of the man and woman and the specific nature of their relationship have not yet been confirmed.
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"Let me tell you, something like this, I don't know that you can prevent it," Finner said. "It's really sad. It's a state that a lot of people are getting in and I don't know what's causing it. If it's domestic, if it's some type of relationship, we want to pray for them."
No other injuries were reported.
