A man has been arrested for allegedly shooting and killing a teacher at her Texas home. Charvas Thompson, 26, has been identified as Wendy Duan’s new boyfriend by the city of Sugar Land, Texas.
“Detectives quickly identified Thompson after interviewing witnesses at the scene, reviewing nearby video and confirming his vehicle from license plate recognition cameras in the area,” said city spokesman Doug B. Adolph. “An arrest warrant was issued early Sunday morning charging Thompson with murder and setting his bond at $500,000.”
Duan was a third grade reading and language arts teacher at Boone Elementary School in Houston, Texas.
A police response was dispatched Saturday night at 9:50 p.m. at her Oxford Mills Lane residence.
“Neighbors told police they heard shots fired,” according to Adolph’s previous statement. “When officers arrived, they found a 28 year woman dead in the backyard with multiple gunshot wounds. The woman lived alone at the house and no one else was there when police arrived.”
Thompson and Duan had argued before the shooting, authorities said, but did not specify a motive for the shooting.
“Witnesses told police an argument led to the shooting, and Thompson drove away in his vehicle,” stated the city.
At first, authorities did not identify Thompson as the suspect and described the incident as a possible domestic violence incident.
“His identity is not being shared at this time to protect the integrity of the homicide investigation,” the previous statement stated.
Thompson was arrested in Shreveport, Louisiana, approximately 260 miles from Sugar Land.
“Sugar Land police worked closely with the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force and the Western District of Louisiana Violent Offenders Task Force and located Thompson in Shreveport, Louisiana,” police said. “The investigation is ongoing. Thompson is expected to be transported to the Fort Bend County jail in the near future.”
Tony Thomas, a neighbor, told KTRK that he heard the shooting: “Out of nowhere, just four very distinct gunshots is what I heard, and it was quite scary at the moment, so I dropped everything I was doing, came outside.”
“It’s very sad about that because she’s very young and vibrant,” Saly Thomas, a neighbor, told KHOU. “It’s very sad. We’re all very sad about it.”
In a statement, Alief Independent School District stated:
“We are deeply saddened to learn about the tragic passing of Alief ISD employee Wendy Duan. She was a third grade reading and writing teacher at Boone Elementary. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family during this difficult time.
“She is a 2017 Graduate of the University of Houston and was on the Dean’s List in the College of Education from Fall 2015-2017
“She is the HAABE (Houston Area Association of Bilingual Educators) 2021-2022 Teacher of the Year.”