Waco landlord shot to death at apartment complex; police kill suspect

WACO, Texas (KWTX) – Police Wednesday identified Ent Wright, 76, as the man who shot and killed Alva Stem Jr., 65, a local landlord and son of longtime Waco city official Alva B. Stem.

Police shot and killed Wright after he emerged from the apartment unit in which he was barricaded and fired at police. The nine officers who fired at the suspect are all on administrative leave while Texas Rangers investigate.

The victim’s father, Alva B. Stem, a Waco native who died in October 2011, worked for the city for four decades as director of parks and recreation and the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum.

Alva Stem, Jr., and his wife Sherry are the owners of the two-story REX-PLEX apartment building at 701 Rambler Dr., according to McLennan County Tax Appraisal District records. A van bearing the name of Stem’s son’s company, Rex Stem Homes, was parked outside the building during the SWAT standoff.

The shooting was reported just after 10 a.m. Tuesday at the apartment building near the Waco Family YMCA. Officers found Stem lying on the ground, dead of two gunshot wounds to the abdomen, police spokeswoman Cierra Shipley said.

Police determined the suspect in the shooting was barricaded in his second-floor apartment, Shipley said. A SWAT team and police negotiators were dispatched to the scene. As they were preparing to make contact with the suspect, the man, later identified as Wright, unexpectedly stepped outside and sat down in a chair on the balcony.

Officers ordered him to show his hands. Instead, he turned back and reached inside the apartment. Police said Wright fired at SWAT members.

Officers then deployed a flash bang and fired as many as a half-dozen rounds. A review of KWTX video of the shooting showed clearly the man was holding a handgun when he was shot while sitting in the chair.

The man was still moving as officers approached, officials said. When they turned him over to begin life-saving measures, they discovered the handgun. They also recovered the shotgun.

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