Police said a wounded man trying to get help was shot after a homeowner believed he was breaking in.
HOUSTON, Texas — A violent dispute between two brothers in southwest Houston ended with one man in critical condition after a neighbor shot him while believing he was forcing his way into a home, police said.
The shooting drew attention because investigators said the man who was shot had been running for help after a street fight with his brother. Family members said the conflict grew out of a long-running feud between the two men, who their mother said owned competing smoke shops. Police said the case remains under investigation, with one brother hospitalized and the other still being sought.
Investigators said the violence unfolded in Houston’s Hiram Clarke area after a confrontation between the brothers turned physical in the street. The injured man, identified by his mother as Leontay Wade, appeared in Ring doorbell video knocking frantically on a neighbor’s door and pleading for help. He asked for someone to call 911, according to the report and video described by local television journalists. Police said the homeowner did not let him inside. Wade then ran to another nearby house and tried to get in, and that homeowner fired a gun after believing he was facing a break-in.
Wade was taken to a hospital in critical condition. His mother, Shirley Jolivet, told television reporters the conflict had been building for some time and worsened the day before the shooting. She said Kenneth Jolivet, Wade’s brother, came to her home around 4 p.m., tied her up, assaulted her and kept her hostage for about six hours in an effort to lure Wade and their father there. In video from the neighborhood, Wade could be seen bloodied and distressed as he moved from house to house. Family members identified a man visible behind him in one clip as Kenneth Jolivet. Police said Kenneth Jolivet fled after the shooting and had not been found.
The case now sits at the intersection of a family dispute and a possible self-defense claim. Investigators said the neighbor who fired the shot had not been charged. Police indicated the shooting would likely be reviewed by a grand jury to determine whether it was legally justified. That leaves several important questions unresolved, including exactly how the street fight began, whether the homeowner heard Wade ask for help before the shooting, and what evidence police may gather from surveillance video, witness accounts and physical evidence at the homes involved. Authorities have not publicly announced any criminal charge against Kenneth Jolivet in connection with the family’s allegations, but they said officers are actively looking for him.
For relatives, the episode was less a random act of violence than the collapse of a feud that had already turned dangerous. Shirley Jolivet described the result as a family tragedy that spiraled beyond control. The reported hostage allegation, the street fight, the desperate pleas caught on camera and the gunfire outside a stranger’s house all unfolded within roughly a day, leaving one son gravely hurt and another missing. In the neighborhood, the images from the doorbell footage added a stark layer to the investigation because they appeared to show a man seeking emergency help moments before he was shot.
As of the latest public account, Wade remained hospitalized in critical condition, Kenneth Jolivet remained at large, and investigators were still deciding whether the neighbor’s gunfire was justified. The next major step is expected to be continued police investigation and possible grand jury review.
Author note: Last updated March 25, 2026.