Peoria native kills wife, then dies in shootout with deputies, Texas sheriff's office says

A Peoria native shot and killed his wife before being fatally shot by law enforcement, according to the Sheriff's Office in Harris County, Texas.

A spokesperson for the Sheriff's Office on Monday identified the couple as Greg Hightower and Takara Hightower.

Greg Hightower, a 2003 Woodruff grad, had spent 19 years in the U.S. Navy, most recently as a recruiter. He recently bought the Shar-Inn at a tax auction and planned to revive the long-shuttered Peoria County motel. He told the Journal Star recently that he wanted to move back to Peoria and run the motel as part of his commitment to giving back to his hometown.

On Thursday, agents were interviewing Takara Hightower in connection with a domestic violence investigation at their Atascocita home, a community located about 18 miles northeast of downtown Houston, said Jeff Houston, a spokesman for Naval Criminal Investigative Services.

While NCIS agents were there, Greg Hightower arrived and allegedly shot and killed his wife and then shot a NCIS agent. Takara Hightower was holding their child when she was shot, according to the Houston Chronicle.

"A second NCIS Special Agent on scene returned fire on the subject, who managed to flee and drive away," Houston said in a media release. The NCIS agent who was shot survived.

Authorities said Hightower then drove to northwest Harris County, where deputies found him parked outside his mother's house after she called 911, according to ABC13 in Houston. Deputies said there was a shootout in which Hightower was killed, the TV station reported.

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Investigators say Harris County Sheriff's Office deputies were called to their house twice before regarding domestic violence, according to ABC13. The first time was in July when investigators said Takara Hightower accused her husband of hitting her. He also accused her of the same thing, so prosecutors didn't file charges. The second call to authorities was made two days before the deadly shooting, and the sheriff's office said the woman called to ask how to file a restraining order, according to ABC 13.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria native Greg Hightower identified as man who killed wife in Texas