After a police standoff in Houston left her parked car shot up, a University of Houston student said she was stuck with the fallout.
The vehicle was heavily damaged, but the city initially refused to cover repairs.
Here's what to know
On July 6, as ABC13 reported, 20-year-old Abigail Trujillo was working a shift at a retail store. Her Nissan Altima was parked at the Highland Village shopping center. During a police standoff involving a reportedly stolen vehicle, bullets struck Trujillo's car about 40 times.
The Altima sustained $20,000 in damage, per the station. Houston Police said the driver of the allegedly stolen car, identified as Jamarcus Spates, was grazed.
Trujillo said the car is central to her day-to-day life.
"I use it for school, I use it for work," she explained to ABC13.
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Nonetheless, when Trujillo filed a claim, the City of Houston sent her a letter that stated governmental immunity applied and that it was "not legally liable" for the damage. As a result, she had to pay for a car she could not drive and use a friend's vehicle to get to school and work.
"I was very surprised because, to me, they're clearly responsible for the damages," Trujillo told the station.
More background
ABC13 spoke with Jeffrey Redfern, a senior attorney for the nonprofit Institute of Justice, who said Texas law favors compensation in circumstances like this.
"The Texas Supreme Court has held since 1980 that when law enforcement intentionally or foreseeably destroys innocent people's property in the course of doing their jobs, the innocent property owners are entitled to be compensated," Redfern said.
He noted the issue is not necessarily how the officers acted.
"I agree they're not liable because they did something wrong, but the law is pretty clear in Texas that they are liable for this kind of intentional destruction," he added to ABC13.
The station noted around 300 people filed claims alleging property damage tied to Houston Police Department activity from 2024 through the first few months of 2025. Only about 1 in 4 of those claims were paid.
What's being done?
When ABC13 asked Houston Mayor John Whitmire's office about Trujillo's case, the station said it received two separate statements in response.
"Mayor Whitmire has personally gotten involved in the resolution of this situation," the first said. "It will be resolved in a fair manner, as it was initially mishandled due to a technicality."
The station asked when the mayor became involved and got a revised statement that omitted the line about the case being mishandled.
Trujillo told ABC13 that her car was taken as part of the investigation and that she had to pay $200 out of pocket to retrieve it from the HPD impound lot.
After hearing that the mayor's office had become involved, she told the network: "I guess I'll wait till they reach out to me and see where that goes. I was not expecting that."
Where can I learn more?
Trujillo's case is one of several disputes that have left car owners and homeowners trying to sort out who pays for damage.
• A Tesla owner said a man kicked his parked Model Y and insurance offered no relief.
• In Colorado, a homeowner faced an outlandish HOA lawsuit over tree damage they denied causing.
• In Richmond, Indiana, officials were sued a second time over alleged negligence tied to a plastics fire.
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