Apartment worker checking burst pipes fatally shot by resident, Grand Prairie police say

A maintenance worker at a Grand Prairie apartment complex was fatally shot by a resident on Christmas Eve after he mistook him for a burglar, according to police.

Officers responded to an apartment in the 2900 block of Alouette Drive around 6 p.m. and found the worker lying on the resident’s balcony with a gunshot wound, police said.

The worker, Cesar Montelongo, was taken to the hospital where he later died.

Montelongo, 53, had been checking balconies for freezing and busted waterlines after the complex had several pipes rupture during the winter storm, according to police.

When the resident noticed Montelongo on his balcony, he “armed himself with a firearm and shot the victim through a window,” police wrote in a release.

The resident, who was not publicly identified, stayed at the scene and cooperated with police. He has not been arrested or charged.

The investigation is ongoing and the case will be referred to the Tarrant County Grand Jury for review.