The victims’ family identified them as Leonel and Nelsy Pavon as investigators pieced together the events surrounding Monday’s gunfire.
BAYTOWN, Texas — A father had returned home after dropping his wife off at work early Monday when a shooting at their Baytown-area residence left him dead and their 19-year-old daughter critically injured, according to authorities and the victims’ family.
The shooting brought Harris County sheriff’s deputies to the 5400 block of North Redell Road at about 5:47 a.m. Sept. 28. Deputies found two people with apparent gunshot wounds. The father died at the scene, while his daughter was flown by Life Flight to a hospital, where she was reported in critical condition and underwent surgery.
The victims’ wife and mother, Luz Aviles, identified them as her husband, 53-year-old Leonel Pavon, and their daughter, 19-year-old Nelsy Pavon. Aviles said her husband had dropped her off at work at about 5 a.m. Monday. The shooting was reported less than an hour later.
A neighbor’s surveillance recording captured the sound of three gunshots at about 5:45 a.m., shortly before deputies were dispatched. Investigators spent hours processing the residential property and surrounding area as they worked to determine what led to the violence.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez initially said a suspect had fled. Deputies also interviewed a relative who had been asleep inside the residence when the shooting occurred. Investigators said they did not believe that relative was involved.
By Monday night, the investigation had led authorities more than 150 miles away to the Waco area. Gonzalez said 22-year-old Guillermo Mondragon Rosales, identified by authorities as Nelsy Pavon’s former boyfriend, had been taken into custody in connection with the shooting. License plate readers helped investigators trace him, and state troopers and a violent-offender task force assisted with the apprehension.
Rosales was accused of aggravated assault in connection with the shooting of his former girlfriend. Authorities said additional charges were pending as homicide investigators continued examining Leonel Pavon’s death. Rosales also faced two traffic-related misdemeanor allegations following his arrest.
Authorities have not released a detailed account establishing exactly what happened immediately before the gunfire. Reports from the neighborhood indicated Rosales had previously lived at the residence and had moved out after his relationship with Nelsy Pavon ended. Those circumstances remained part of an active investigation, and authorities had not publicly established a complete sequence leading to the shooting.
Gonzalez linked the case to the broader consequences of intimate partner violence, noting that its effects can extend beyond the people directly involved in a relationship. In this case, one member of the Pavon family was killed and another was hospitalized with critical injuries.
Rosales remained in custody following his arrest in the Waco area as the Harris County Sheriff’s Office continued its homicide investigation. Authorities had not announced an updated condition for Nelsy Pavon or disclosed additional charges in the latest reports available Tuesday.
Author note: Last updated September 29, 2026.