Charvas Thompson shot and killed teacher Wendy Duan a week after they started dating, according to officials. (Image of Thompson via Sugar Land, Texas; screenshot of Duan via her Facebook page)
Police arrested a man for allegedly shooting and killing a teacher at her Texas home. The city of Sugar Land, Texas, identified the suspect in custody, Charvas Thompson, 26, as Wendy Duan‘s new boyfriend.
“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,” city spokesman Doug B. Adolph said in a statement obtained by Law&Crime. “An arrest warrant was issued early Sunday morning charging Thompson with murder and setting his bond at $500,000.”
Duan, 28, was a third grade reading and language arts teacher at Boone Elementary School in nearby Houston, Texas.
As previously reported, cops responded Saturday at 9:50 p.m. to her home on Oxford Mills Lane.
“Neighbors told police they heard shots fired,” Adolph’s previous statement said. “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.”
Authorities did not detail a motive but said the shooting followed an argument between Thompson and Duan.
“Witnesses told police an argument led to the shooting, and Thompson drove away in his vehicle,” the city wrote.
Authorities initially did not name Thompson as the suspect and only said this was a possible domestic violence incident.
“His identity is not being shared at this time to protect the integrity of the homicide investigation,” said the previous statement.
Authorities now say they arrested Thompson in Shreveport, Louisiana, which is about 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,” they said. “The investigation is ongoing. Thompson is expected to be transported to the Fort Bend County jail in the near future.”
Authorities ask that anyone with information on the case to contact the Sugar Land Police Department Criminal Investigations Division at (281) 275-2540 or report anonymous tips to Fort Bend County Crime Stoppers to 281-342-TIPS.
One neighbor, Tony Thomas, told KTRK about hearing 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,” neighbor Saly Thomas told KHOU. “It’s very sad. We’re all very sad about it.”
From the Alief Independent School District, in a statement to Law&Crime:
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 2015-2017She is the HAABE (Houston Area Association of Bilingual Educators) 2021-2022 Teacher of the Year