{
  "id": "2023-02-04-sam-houston-state-house-party-shooting",
  "slug": "sam-houston-state-house-party-shooting-2023-02-04",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Sam Houston State University",
    "shortName": "SHSU",
    "state": "TX",
    "type": "public-r2",
    "alertSystemName": "KatSafe",
    "enrollment": 21000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2023-02-04",
    "type": "shooting",
    "cleryCategory": "timely-warning",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat",
    "headline": "A house party shooting near campus kills two people; a warning follows two hours later",
    "headlinePublic": "A house party shooting near campus kills two people; a warning follows two hours later",
    "summary": "Just after [12:30 AM CST on Saturday, February 4, 2023, Huntsville Police responded to a house party shooting near 19th Street and Avenue O](https://www.khou.com/article/news/crime/house-party-shooting-sam-houston-state/285-d5f28efe-769c-4492-ad56-71024e7a50f4), one block from the Sam Houston State University campus. Four people had been shot; two (18-year-old James Jones of Huntsville and 18-year-old Cruz Garcia of Livingston) would ultimately die from their injuries. SHSU's KatSafe emergency notification system [sent a Clery-compliant timely warning at 2:49 AM CST](https://www.itemonline.com/news/updated-two-dead-following-house-party-gone-wrong/article_e23cf5b0-a492-11ed-82f4-27276d0817d2.html), more than two hours after the initial gunfire, advising students and staff to avoid the area surrounding Avenue O and 19th Street.",
    "outcome": "Two 18-year-old men died from their injuries: James Jones of Huntsville (pronounced dead at the scene area) and Cruz Garcia of Livingston (died at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston). Two other victims, also from Livingston, were transported in critical condition. Joe Allen Lewis, 22, and Lynn Johnson, 19, both of Livingston, were arrested Saturday afternoon. No SHSU students were among the casualties, but multiple students were at the off-campus party. The investigation was led by Huntsville Police with SHSU Police and Texas DPS assisting.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 2,
      "injured": 2
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2023-02-04T02:57:05-06:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "Timely Warning:
\nAt approximately 1:11 a.m. today, SHSU Police received notification of multiple shots reported off-campus in the 1500 block of 19th Street, Huntsville. Avoid the area surrounding Avenue O and 19th Street.\n\nMore information: https://www.shsu.edu/katsafe/",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/SamHoustonState/status/1621794962768633862",
      "sourceDescription": "@SamHoustonState on X (verbatim raw)",
      "annotations": [
        "Exact official @SamHoustonState X post (status 1621794962768633862); supersedes KatSafe reconstruction",
        "Incident window: ~1:11 a.m. Feb 4, 2023; post ~2:57 a.m. CST"
      ],
      "characterCount": 270
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestamp": "2023-02-04T08:46:21-06:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "Timely Warning:
\nThe area surrounding Avenue O and 19th Street is all clear. Huntsville Police Department is still investigating. If you have any information regarding this crime, please contact Huntsville Police Department.
\nMore information: https://www.shsu.edu/katsafe/",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/SamHoustonState/status/1621882859865755650",
      "sourceDescription": "@SamHoustonState on X (verbatim raw)",
      "annotations": [
        "Exact official @SamHoustonState X all-clear (status 1621882859865755650)"
      ],
      "characterCount": 273
    }
  ],
  "context": "Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas is an R2 public university with about 21,000 students, and one of the [Conference USA's flagship Texas institutions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Houston_State_University). The area around campus (particularly along 19th Street and Avenue O) hosts off-campus student housing that has occasionally been the site of late-night parties. Just after [12:30 AM CST on Saturday, February 4, 2023, an unregistered house party at a residence near 19th Street and Avenue O](https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2023/02/04/1-dead-3-critically-hurt-in-house-party-shooting-near-sam-houston-state-university-authorities-say/) (one block from the SHSU campus) erupted in gunfire. Huntsville Police, SHSU Police, and Texas DPS troopers responded and found four people shot. Two 18-year-old men died: [James Jones of Huntsville at the scene area, and Cruz Garcia of Livingston later at a Houston hospital](https://abc13.com/post/sam-houston-state-university-police-house-party-shooting-gun-violence-fatal/12774095/). Two other victims, also from Livingston, were in critical condition. [SHSU's KatSafe emergency notification system sent a Clery-compliant timely warning at 2:49 AM CST](https://www.itemonline.com/news/updated-two-dead-following-house-party-gone-wrong/article_e23cf5b0-a492-11ed-82f4-27276d0817d2.html), a 2-hour-19-minute delay from the initial gunfire that reflected the time required to confirm scene details and make a Clery determination. Joe Allen Lewis, 22, and Lynn Johnson, 19, of Livingston were arrested Saturday afternoon. The case illustrates the Clery 'timely warning' workflow for off-campus violence near university housing, where the institution's notification obligation is keyed to a 'continuing threat to the campus community' rather than the imminent-danger standard for on-campus emergencies. The 2:49 AM timestamp is also a reminder that timely warnings often arrive long after the incident itself, by design rather than by error.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "The KatSafe alert was issued at 2:49 AM CST, 2 hours and 19 minutes after the initial 12:30 AM CST shooting, a delay consistent with the Clery 'timely warning' framework for off-campus continuing-threat assessments rather than the 'emergency notification' framework for immediate on-campus danger",
    "The alert explicitly cited the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Statistics Act, an unusual transparency choice that names the legal authority for the notification",
    "Two 18-year-olds died and two other Livingston residents were critically injured; no SHSU students were among the casualties, though students were at the party",
    "Two suspects from Livingston, Texas were arrested the same afternoon, bringing the timely-warning continuing-threat justification to a relatively quick resolution"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "1 dead, 3 shot near Sam Houston State University (KHOU)",
      "url": "https://www.khou.com/article/news/crime/house-party-shooting-sam-houston-state/285-d5f28efe-769c-4492-ad56-71024e7a50f4",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "UPDATED: Two dead following house party gone wrong (Huntsville Item)",
      "url": "https://www.itemonline.com/news/updated-two-dead-following-house-party-gone-wrong/article_e23cf5b0-a492-11ed-82f4-27276d0817d2.html",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "2 dead, 2 injured after off-campus party near Sam Houston State University on Avenue O and 19th Street (ABC13 Houston)",
      "url": "https://abc13.com/post/sam-houston-state-university-police-house-party-shooting-gun-violence-fatal/12774095/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "2 teens dead, 2 arrested after shooting at house party near Sam Houston State University (Click2Houston KPRC)",
      "url": "https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2023/02/04/1-dead-3-critically-hurt-in-house-party-shooting-near-sam-houston-state-university-authorities-say/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "KatSafe (official)",
      "url": "https://www.shsu.edu/katsafe/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "@SamHoustonState X — Timely Warning shots reported",
      "url": "https://x.com/SamHoustonState/status/1621794962768633862",
      "type": "official-social"
    },
    {
      "title": "@SamHoustonState X — Avenue O all clear",
      "url": "https://x.com/SamHoustonState/status/1621882859865755650",
      "type": "official-social"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "shooting",
    "off-campus",
    "house-party",
    "texas",
    "public-university",
    "timely-warning",
    "Clery-Act",
    "conference-usa",
    "alert-delay",
    "regional-public"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-13",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-18",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}