Free pizza and shattered panes: Nathan DeSai’s neighbours struggle to make sense of Houston shooting

The day after Nathan DeSai, a 46-year-old lawyer of Indian origin, opened fire in a quiet neighbourhood in southwest Houston on Monday, injuring nine people, a teenager stood on the street, handing out pizza to passersby.

Eighteen-year-old Josue Telgado had travelled in from the suburb of Spring, more than 40 km away, "to bring smiles in times of trouble".

His table bore a handwritten sign imploring: "Have a slice and remember to be nice."

Not everyone was so sunny. A little distance away, 49-year-old Alan Wakim paced up and down the “kill zone”, as he called the street right outside his home in the quiet West University Place neighbourhood lined with trees, bungalows and condominiums. Two stray bullets had hit the windshield of his car and the IT analyst’s arms were full of abrasions and blood stains where splinters of glass had pierced his skin. His eyes still hurt and his vision was blurry, but he kept repeating, “It could have been worse.”

The first gunshot was reported around 6.30 am – it was still dark, but people were headed to work. The rampage continued for another half hour or so, until the police shot DeSai dead. He had come down the stairs of his apartment, stashed ammunition in his black convertible Porsche, walked a few meters and hidden behind a tree to shoot at passersby.

‘A nice guy’

For Wakim, the gravity of what had happened dawned only as the morning wore on. Soon after he got out of the parking lot to leave for work, a bullet hit his car. Before he realised what had happened, a second one struck. “I managed to drive past the gunman in a frenzy,” he said. “It was only after I was at a safe distance that I stopped and called my wife.”

Law Street, where DeSai lived and unleashed the violence with his .45 calibre handgun, was unusually busy all of Tuesday. Policemen, curious onlookers and residents were out on the streets.

Outside DeSai’s apartment on the topmost floor of the condominium were strewn pieces of glass from the window that the police broke to enter. The interiors were clean – a book titled Osho Zen Tarot was lying around, washed dishes were stacked next to the sink, and a pan sat on the cooking range. It was from here that the police seized several weapons after the crossfire ended. From DeSai’s car, police recovered 2,600 rounds of ammunition, and a Thompson submachine gun.

Barbara Woods-Spofford, who lives across from DeSai’s apartment, said she was woken up by loud sounds. “I had never heard gunshots before, so I was wondering what was going on,” said the social worker engaged with mental health issues. “My husband told me. I soon called the police, as well as all my neighbours...I learned from the property manager that DeSai had been paranoid for a while, and that he had used a gun to threaten roofers just weeks before. If he had been treated for his mental condition, this wouldn’t have happened.”

At around 10 am, she stepped out of her home and saw DeSai’s body lying in a pool of blood. “That’s the sight I cannot shake off,” she said.

One of DeSai’s neighbours, who requested anonymity, said that he had seemed like a “nice guy”.

He added: “But over time, I got the feeling that he was getting depressed. He would let trash pile up outside his apartment for days on end. He ordered food all the time. He also had a collection of antique guns.”

Was he ever invited to see the guns?

“No. But they were on casual display,” said the neighbour. “Every time he opened his door, one could see them.”

The Houston Police Department has not yet assigned a motive to the assault. At a press conference on the day of the shooting, acting Houston police chief Martha Montalvo said that they were working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. “At this point we are very open-minded in terms of motive,” he said.

Previous shootings

Newspaper reports said that DeSai had been disgruntled over the last few months for professional reasons and a failing law practice. He had parted ways with his law partner Kenneth McDaniel earlier this year.

Texas is not new to such shootings. In July, a sniper opened fire at a Black Lives Matter protest march in Dallas, killing five policemen. In April 2014, a gunman went on a shooting spree at several locations on the Fort Hood Military Base near Killeen, killing three soldiers and himself. August marked 50 years since a student of the University of Texas at Austin killed more than a dozen students from the 28th floor of the campus’ iconic tower. This incident shaped how the US viewed its mass shootings.

Even at the national level, advocates of gun control have been faced with stiff opposition from proponents of the Second Amendment of the US Constitution, which gives citizens the right to bear arms. In 36 American states, buying and owning a gun is an easy affair. Texas is one of them. Here, there is no legal requirement for gun registration, or need for a permit to buy and own firearms including rifles, shotguns and handguns.

Despite the bloodbath, some of DeSai’s neighbours didn't seem to believe gun control was necessary. “Guns are not bad, people who misuse them are,” said Wakim.

Added a woman who lives in the apartment below DeSai’s, and who didn’t wish to be identified: “He was clearly mentally ill. That he owned guns was not the problem.”