Who killed Wendy Duan? Texas ‘teacher of the year’ shot dead behind house in domestic violence case
HOUSTON, TEXAS: A Texas elementary school teacher who was named "Teacher of the Year" in 2021 was shot dead behind her house on Saturday, January 7, in what police consider a case of domestic violence. While responding to calls about a shooting at about 9.50 pm on Saturday police found Wendy Duan, 28, dead in her Sugar Land backyard with multiple gunshot wounds.
Tony Thomas, Duan's neighbor, told ABC13 he heard "four very distinct gunshots." Thomas said, "It was quite scary at the moment, so I dropped everything I was doing, came outside." According to KHOU, neighbor Saly Thomas said, "It's very sad … she's very young and vibrant and … we're all very sad about it." Duan was a third grade reading and language arts teacher at Boone Elementary School in Houston. She posted on Facebook about being named the school's Teacher of the Year in December 2021, writing, "I still can't believe that I won ESL teacher of the year lol The whole time I kept telling people that there's no way that I would win, especially going against other teachers who have been teaching way longer than I have. Thanks to the people who believed in me and voted for me!"
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The teacher's Twitter account mostly contained photos praising her students and fellow teachers, with many expressions of her fondness for her job. One 2021 tweet read, "Great things that happened last week! My students referred back to their MyBooks to help them with their plot structure assignment! #duallanguage #2ndgrade #hmh #readingisfun #ela".
Great things that happened last week! My students referred back to their MyBooks to help them with their plot structure assignment! #duallanguage #2ndgrade #hmh #readingisfun #ela pic.twitter.com/dIyGsVYATa
— Ms.Duan (@AliefDuan) November 9, 2021
Easter eggs filled with squishy toys for my kids!😄🥚🐣#2ndgrade pic.twitter.com/tgTwgUDBgy
— Ms.Duan (@AliefDuan) April 14, 2022
Crisis counseling teams are present at Boone Elementary to help students and staff after Daun's death. The Alief Independent School District said in a statement that Duan had been employed with the district since 2017. "We are deeply saddened to learn about the tragic passing of Alief ISD employee Wendy Duan," the statement said.
The Sugar Land Police Department posted a statement online where they claimed to have identified a suspect in Duan's shooting. Unfortunately the suspect has not been arrested yet and his name and relationship with the victim have also not been disclosed. The investigation continues.
MEAWW previously reported that the teacher who was shot by a six-year-old student in New port News Virginia elementary school is showing 'signs of improvement'. Earlier, police stated that she was in critical condition, in the hospital with "life-threatening injuries." The incident is being called a "red flag for the country," Phillip Jones, the mayor of the city of Newport News in Virginia said. The 25-year-old school teacher Abby Zwerner was identified by FOX3 Now News.