Neighbors rattled after woman allegedly fires shots at officers in Boerne

Melissa Rowley, 45, charged with 2 counts of attempted capital murder

BOERNE, Texas – Residents at a Boerne apartment complex are still on edge after a woman allegedly fired shots at two officers early Friday morning.

Boerne police said Melissa Rowley, 45, had called 911 to report an intruder, but when officers arrived, she started shooting at them.

READ MORE: Woman called 911 to report burglary, then ambushed arriving officers, police say

Neighbor Erik Harp said he couldn’t tell where the shots were coming from at first, so he went outside to check if anyone was hurt and to try to stop anyone else from getting hurt.

“As soon as I opened my door I stopped … and her door comes swinging open and she came out of the apartment pretty quickly,” Harp said about Rowley.

Harp said he told Rowley to drop the gun, and then she let go of it and ran into his apartment.

Police then took Rowley into custody.

“Shortly after they started knocking is when they heard the fire coming from the apartment, so they retreated to cover,” said Lt. Steve Perez, with the Boerne Police Department. “Totally took our guys by surprise because they weren't expecting shooting coming from the inside.”

Perez said Rowley knew officers were outside the apartment.

“The dispatchers kept telling her on several occasions that the officers were outside,” he said.

Police said Rowley fired about six shots, but no one was hurt.

“My neighbor upstairs has a daughter in high school, and they said it came about two feet away from her daughter sleeping. It gives me goosebumps still thinking about it,” Harp said.

Boerne police are still trying to determine the motive for the shooting.

Rowley does not have a previous criminal record with the Boerne Police Department. She is charged with two counts of attempted capital murder.

Rowley is at the Kendall County Jail. She’s being held on a $2 million bond.


About the Author:

Stephanie Serna is a weekday anchor on Good Morning San Antonio and GMSA at 9 a.m. She joined the KSAT 12 News team in November 2009 as a general assignments reporter.