Todd Christopher Gehlert was a 49-year-old White man whose life ended in a sudden burst of violence on July 12, 2024, at a residence in Humble, Texas. The shooting occurred at a home in the 9200 block of Tracelawn Court, near Wilson Road and the Sam Houston Tollway, during a difficult period for the Houston area following Hurricane Beryl. The residence had no electricity, leaving those inside coping with summer heat and the broader strain caused by the storm.
Gehlert lived at the
residence as a roommate of Floyd D. Redding and a woman who also lived there. According to investigators, Gehlert and Redding had been drinking outside the house when an argument developed. The disagreement became physical, and the two men began fighting. Authorities said Redding went to retrieve a pistol and then shot Gehlert. Deputies responding to the property found Gehlert suffering from a gunshot wound, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Redding remained at the location and cooperated with investigators during the initial inquiry.
The shooting was first investigated to determine whether criminal charges were appropriate or whether the evidence should be presented to a grand jury. Within days, however, Harris County authorities announced that a murder charge had been accepted against Redding. He was arrested and booked into the Harris County Jail. Sheriff Ed Gonzalez identified Redding as the alleged shooter and described Gehlert as the male roommate who had been killed after the drinking, argument and physical confrontation outside the powerless home.
Later public jail records indicate that Redding was in Harris County custody again as of July 2026 in connection with case number 187653401010. Those records listed the pending charge as manslaughter rather than murder, placed the case in the 179th District Court and showed a $50,000 bond. The available records do not clearly explain whether prosecutors formally reduced the original murder accusation, obtained a manslaughter indictment or otherwise changed the charge as the case progressed. No reliable public report located for this synopsis confirms that Redding has gone to trial, entered a plea or been convicted, so the criminal proceeding should still be regarded as unresolved unless a later court disposition establishes otherwise.
Gehlert’s death left behind a family that remembered him for far more than the circumstances of the shooting. Born in St. Louis on August 18, 1974, he spent parts of his childhood in Southern Illinois and Traverse City, Michigan, before graduating from Lone Oak High School in Paducah, Kentucky. His family later moved to the Crosby, Texas, area, and he began what became a three-decade career with Continental Airlines and United Airlines.
Those closest to Gehlert described him as devoted to his children, Macy and Landon, and to his stepson, Kyle. He was also survived by his parents, Charlie and Ann Gehlert, his sisters, his fiancée, Karissa Littlejohn, and numerous extended family members. He was remembered as adventurous, hardworking, humorous and deeply proud of his children. A memorial service celebrating his life was held in Humble on July 27, 2024, while the prosecution arising from the confrontation continued through the Harris County court system.
