Crime In The City

Stabbing at luxury apartment complex after bar fight leaves one man dead

Houston police are investigating a stabbing death that occurred early Sunday morning at the posh West Ave Apartments, located on Kirby near Westheimer. According to an email statement sent to residents by the management of the Gables West Ave complex:

A man was stabbed and is now deceased after being involved in, what was a described as, a heated argument with another man, in the halls of the 4th floor of building B. Thankfully, one of our residents heard the commotion and called the police. The police arrived in time to catch and detain the suspect.

I do not have any other details at this time, but it does not appear that the deceased was a resident. It is believed that the men involved were invited guests of a resident. While this incident is very disturbing, it does appear to be an isolated one.

We ask that the residents who live on the 4th floor of building B exercise caution if exiting your apartment early this morning, as the police are still here and are working on that floor to collect evidence. Once the police are finished, our maintenance team will be onsite to begin returning the hallway to its normal state."

Details remain sketchy, but investigators told KTRK Channel 13 that the two men had exchanged words at a nearby bar. Each man returned to the West Ave complex individually and ended up on the same floor around 2 a.m. A fight escalated and one man was stabbed to death in the chest.

Late Sunday afternoon, police identified the deceased as Shannon James Gallagher, 25. He was pronounced dead when police arrived. An unidentified suspect remains in custody.

UPDATE: On Sunday afternoon, residents at Gables West Ave received an updated email from the property manager:

First I just want everyone to know that our hearts are very heavy over this incident, as I know many of yours are as well. This was a tragedy and our condolences go out to anyone who knew the victim or suspect, or may have witnessed this event or the aftermath of it.

When I sent out the first email this morning, we had very little information about what had occurred and who was involved. We now know that one of the men involved is a resident, and the other, a friend of a resident. As the news reported, the altercation appeared to have begun at a bar and later made its way into our hallways when the 2 men, coincidentally, ran into each other here on the property, after making their way home from the bar. It is unclear what caused the altercation and details of such are still being investigated. It is my understanding that the altercation went on in the hallway for few minutes, but our patrol service was not made aware of the incident until after the stabbing occurred. As this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot comment further on the details or the names of the persons involved. All that we can confirm right now, is that this was an isolated domestic incident between two people who appear to have known each other. Gables will continue to work with the police to ensure a thorough investigation.

Lastly, many of you have asked if we will be adding anything to our security protocol as a result of this incident and the answer right now is, I don’t know. As this incident is only hours old, those items have yet to be discussed. This appears to be a domestic issue, and because the persons involved were either residents or invited guests of residents, we do not believe there was a breach of access on the property. However, we will be keeping a pulse on the investigation to ensure that we have all the facts and can address any items accordingly that need to be addressed."

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income analysis

Texas families need to make this much money for one parent to stay home

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

With costs to raise a child soaring over $20,000 a year in Texas, some households might decide to have one parent work while the other stays at home to raise their child.

As the cost of raising a child balloons in major cities like Houston, many families are weighing the choice between paying for child care or having one parent stay home full-time.

A recent analysis from SmartAsset determined the minimum income one parent needs to earn to support their partner staying at home to raise one child in all 50 states. In Texas — not just Houston — that amount is just under $75,000.

The study used the MIT Living Wage Calculator to compare the annual living wages needed for a household with two working adults and one child, and a household with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child. The study also calculated how much it would cost to raise a child with two working parents based on factors such as "food, housing, childcare, healthcare, transportation, incremental income taxes and other necessities."

A Texas household with one working parent would need to earn $74,734 a year to support a stay-at-home partner and a child, the report found. If two parents worked in the household, necessitating some additional costs like childcare and transportation, it would require an additional $10,504 in annual income to raise their child.

SmartAsset said the cost to raise a child in Texas in a two-working-parent household adds up to $23,587. Raising a child in Houston, however, is somewhat more affordable. A separate SmartAsset study from June 2025 determined it costs $21,868 to raise a child in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro.

In the report's ranking of states with the highest minimum income needed to support a family with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child, Texas ranked 32nd on the list.

In other states like Massachusetts, where raising a child can cost more than $40,000 a year, the report acknowledges ways families are working to reduce any financial burdens.

"This often includes considerations around who’s going to work in the household, and whether young children will require paid daycare services while parents are occupied," the report said. "With tradeoffs abound, many parents might seek to understand the minimum income needed to keep the family afloat while allowing the other parent to stay home to raise a young child."

The top 10 states with the lowest minimum income threshold to support a three-person family on one income are:

West Virginia – $68,099
Arkansas – $68,141
Mississippi – $70,242
Kentucky – $70,408
North Dakota – $70,949
Oklahoma – $71,718
Ohio – $72,114
South Dakota – $72,218
Alabama – $72,238
Nebraska – $72,966

texas income smartasset family