Fort Worth mother facing eviction after shooting intruder allowed to stay

Fort Worth mother won't be evicted after shooting

Aleah Wallace, a Fort Worth mother of four, is no longer facing eviction after she shot an intruder. Wallace, who lives in public housing, shot the teen intruder after calling the police. She was facing eviction over having a gun, which caught the attention of attorneys and lawmakers.

FORT WORTH, Texas - A Fort Worth mother who’s been fighting eviction since shooting an intruder will now be allowed to stay in her home.

In December, Aleah Wallace shot and killed a teenager who was coming through her young daughter’s window. It was the second burglary attempt at her apartment that day and the sixth in a span of a few weeks.

"I have four daughters. It’s just me and my four daughters that stay there. I just was protecting my daughters," she said. "I'm devastated that he was 14. I hate that. I literally do. And I'm so sorry. But at that point, I had to think about my babies. I didn’t know he was 14 when he was on the other side of that window. All I knew was that somebody could come in and hurt me or my kids. That's it."

Fort Worth police did not file charges for the fatal shooting. A grand jury will review the case.

But the managers at Wallace's federally subsidized housing apartment complex still told her she would be evicted for having a gun, which was prohibited by their lease.

"The apartment called and told me that I was not supposed to have a gun at all, even though I kept calling them and telling them somebody was breaking in. They told me I could not have a gun and I have 30 days to vacate," Wallace said back in December.

Texas law seems to be on Wallace’s side. In 2019, lawmakers passed a bill that forbids landlords from prohibiting apartment residents from possessing a gun.

Eviction proceedings were dropped after an attorney who advocates for renters rights got involved and a state representative questioned whether Wallace could be evicted.

Regardless, Wallace feared an eviction or legal battle would keep her and her daughters from finding another place to live.

State Rep. Carrie Isaac (R-Wimberly) saw the story on FOX 4 and began fighting on Wallace’s behalf.

"It made me very angry," Isaac said. "No one should be denied their Second Amendment right just because they live in public housing. It's unconstitutional."

Isaac and other lawmakers worked with the Texas Attorney General’s Office and the Department of Housing and Community Affairs.

This week, the apartment complex told Wallace she could stay.

The eviction has ended, but the ordeal is not over.

"The fact that there will not be an eviction on her record gives her some time to figure things out and decide where she goes next, and without suffering the penalties that come with an eviction, in this case, an illegal one," said Mark Melton, with the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center.

Melton explained why it was important Wallace not be evicted.

"When people are evicted, it goes on their record and it’s almost impossible for them to find new housing in other places, especially if they're in any kind of public assistance housing facility. An eviction really does ruin their life," he said.

Wallace requested another unit because she is concerned about her safety, but the complex told her there are no other available units.

She won the eviction battle, but understandably doesn't want to stay with her four girls where this happened, but that's another problem.

"Across the United States, there is a severe shortage of affordable housing units," Melton said. "And in Texas, we're just one of a handful of states in the country that don't require vouchers, and so most landlords just don't take them. So even if we do have vouchers in hand and money available to pay for the rent, there just aren't units out there for the people to move into."

The Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center has helped about 15,000 families in Dallas County facing eviction since the pandemic.

Wallace’s case was like no other.

"This one was just such a clear-cut case of violation of her rights under state law that we just had to intervene," Melton said.