Galib Chowdhury, a Houston Police Department officer accused of shooting his wife in the face last week, has been fired, according to the department.
In the early hours of June 12, HPD officers arrived at the scene after Chowdhury, 31, had called 911 and said he shot his wife, Sadaf Iqbal, in an accident.
Chowdhury claimed that someone broke into the couple’s home and he accidentally shot his wife while firing at the burglar, but officers determined that the evidence didn’t match his account, court records show. Investigators also found that Chowdhury had sent angry texts to his wife before the shooting.
Iqbal suffered multiple injuries to her right eyeball, a cheekbone fracture and multiple hand fractures, according to court records.
Chowdhury was “relieved of duty,” but not fired, on the day of the shooting.
In an interview with ABC-13 aired Monday, Iqbal said that the events leading up to the shooting started with text messages in which Chowdhury accused her of cheating. When she arrived home later that night, her husband turned violent, Iqbal said.
“He comes and starts yelling,” Iqbal told ABC-13. “I remember being shoved on the wall. I look at him and be like, ‘You never raised your hands at me. You never did this to me.’ I was like, ‘Babe, why are you — like stop, you have never did this.’ He was like, ‘You think I can’t kill you?’ And comes out with a rifle.”
HPD officials said last week the department’s Special Investigations Unit and Internal Affairs Division were investigating the shooting, as well as the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
Chowdhury was charged with aggravated assault with serious bodily injury. Court records show he posted bond, which was set at $125,000.
“The criminal case is in the hands of the court & criminal justice system,” HPD tweeted Tuesday.