The Ruben Houston Appleton firefighter shooting took place on May 15, 2019, at the Valley Transit Center in Appleton, Wisconsin, when Ruben Houston III, a 47-year-old Wausau man who had just been revived from an opioid overdose, drew a handgun and fatally shot firefighter Mitchell Lundgaard, wounded a police officer, and was then killed by return fire. Houston had nine prior felony convictions that had been effectively hidden from Wisconsin’s criminal records by a 2011 legal name change, and he was free on a $500 bond posted eleven days before the shooting.
What Happened at the Valley Transit Center
Paramedics and firefighters were called that afternoon to a Lamers bus arriving at the transit center with an unresponsive passenger. The man was Houston. Responders saw signs of an opioid overdose, including pinpoint pupils and suppressed breathing, and Houston reportedly admitted to taking four morphine pills.1Fox 11 Online. Narcan Not a Factor in Deadly Firefighter Shooting Mitch Lundgaard and two fellow firefighters administered two doses of Narcan. Houston came to, appeared to recover, and walked off the bus.2WISN. Appleton Firefighter Suffered Fatal Shot to Back From Overdose Patient
He refused further treatment. When officers tried to persuade him to go to the hospital, he grew agitated. Sergeant Christopher Biese, a 15-year veteran of the Appleton Police Department, saw a bulge on Houston’s right side and moved in for a pat-down.3WBAY. Outagamie County DA Discusses Firefighter Shooting Investigation Houston said the object was his phone, then pulled a .380 semiautomatic and opened fire.4ABC News. Officers Cleared of Wrongdoing in Shooting That Left Firefighter, Suspect Dead
Lundgaard, who had offered Houston a cot moments before, was shot in the back. Officer Paul Christensen was hit in the lower body and continued returning fire while wounded. Biese and Christensen took cover behind the bus and re-engaged.5Post-Crescent. Appleton Shooting Police Officers Praised for Heroic Bravery During the exchange, Houston grabbed 30-year-old bystander Brittany Schowalter and used her as a human shield. She was struck by officer gunfire, hospitalized, and survived.6Fox 6 Now. Officer-Involved Shooting at Appleton Transit Center Ruled Justified
Houston fired five shots. Officers fired 19 rounds back, Christensen 11 and Biese eight.7NBC 26. Details of Fatal Appleton Shooting Revealed Houston was hit multiple times, dropped the gun, and was handcuffed and taken to a hospital, where he died. Lundgaard, 36, died at the hospital as well.8Post-Crescent. Appleton Shooting Suspected Gunman Identified as Ruben Houston of Wausau
Who Ruben Houston Was
Houston had a criminal record in Wisconsin dating to 1990, all of it under the spelling “Ruben Huston III.” The offenses included a 1991 robbery with a dangerous weapon, a 1996 firearms possession charge, a federal sentence of more than six years in 2002 for possessing an unregistered firearm, a 2002 Milwaukee County conviction for second-degree recklessly endangering safety and being a felon in possession of a weapon, and an 18-month federal sentence in 2010 for selling heroin.8Post-Crescent. Appleton Shooting Suspected Gunman Identified as Ruben Houston of Wausau In all, he had nine felony convictions before 2019.9Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Wisconsin AG Candidate Eric Toney Accused of Botching Felon Case in Fond du Lac County
In 2011, a judge allowed him to legally change his last name from “Huston” to “Houston” by adding an “o.” The change appears to have occurred during bankruptcy proceedings with his wife. Because every one of the nine felonies had been filed under “Huston,” the single-letter change broke the link between his new name and his record in state databases. The court that granted the name change and whether that judge knew of his convictions have not been publicly identified.9Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Wisconsin AG Candidate Eric Toney Accused of Botching Felon Case in Fond du Lac County
His wife Tamatha and stepdaughter Starquis Lewis later told reporters they had not known he owned a firearm. Tamatha described him as a “beautiful person” who struggled with mental illness and a long-term heroin addiction, and said the man in the body camera footage was not who he was. The family apologized to everyone affected.10Fox 11 Online. Ruben Houston’s Family: Officers Did Their Job in Deadly Appleton Shootout
How He Was Free on $500 Bail
On April 21, 2019, Houston was stopped for a traffic violation in Fond du Lac County. Officers found about two grams of a substance that tested inconclusively for heroin but was believed to be a counterfeit narcotic. He was charged with a felony punishable by up to 15 years. At his April 24 initial appearance, a judge set bail at $5,000, the amount the district attorney’s office had requested.11WBAY. Appleton Shooter Released From Fond du Lac County Jail on Reduced Bond
At a May 3 preliminary hearing before Fond du Lac County Judge Gary Sharpe, the defense argued that Houston had “only one old felony conviction.” Assistant District Attorney Timothy Filipa did not object, and acknowledged that Houston did not appear to have “much of a prior record.” Judge Sharpe reduced bail to $500. Houston posted it the next day.9Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Wisconsin AG Candidate Eric Toney Accused of Botching Felon Case in Fond du Lac County
He was then transferred to the Marathon County jail on an outstanding warrant tied to separate disorderly conduct charges and released on a $400 signature bond on May 7. Eight days later he opened fire at the transit center.
Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney later said his office had not been provided with National Crime Information Center data that would have flagged Houston’s aliases, and that no one in the office discovered the 2011 name change until roughly April 2022.12WBAY. AG Candidate Reacts to Criticism Over Low Bond for Man Who Later Killed Appleton Firefighter Toney called it a “hole in the system” and faulted the state for lacking a mechanism to carry criminal records across a legal name change.13TMJ4. DA Toney Blames State for Felon Who Got Out on Low Bail, Killed Firefighter Political opponents, including attorney Adam Jarchow, countered that prosecutors had tools readily available to uncover Houston’s history and that the office bore responsibility for the lapse. Judge Sharpe’s office did not respond to media requests for comment, and no formal review of his bail decision has been publicly reported.14WEAU. Appleton Shooter Was Out of Fond du Lac County Jail on Reduced Bond
Investigation of the Officers
The Outagamie County District Attorney’s Office, led by DA Melinda Tempelis, reviewed the officers’ use of deadly force. On June 13, 2019, Tempelis announced that Sergeant Biese and Officer Christensen were justified and would face no charges, calling their actions “valiant and commendable.”15Wisconsin Public Radio. Prosecutor: Officers Justified in Deadly Shooting Outside Appleton Transit Center Body camera footage released that day showed Houston being revived on the bus, walking away, and then drawing on Biese when the pat-down began. It also showed officers tending to Schowalter and Christensen continuing to fire while wounded. Appleton Police Chief Todd Thomas called the video “heart-wrenching” and praised both officers as “heroic.”16Fox 11 Online. Heart-Wrenching Footage of Fatal Firefighter Shooting Released
Mitchell Lundgaard
Mitch Lundgaard was a 14-year veteran of the Appleton Fire Department. He had served as a firefighter and inspector for eight years before returning to the line in January 2019 as a relief driver. He held a Certified Fire Investigation Technician credential, belonged to the Wisconsin Search and Rescue Task Force, and was near completion of a bachelor’s degree in fire and emergency response management at UW-Oshkosh. He was 36 and left behind his wife Lindsey, his high school sweetheart, and three sons: Evan, Logan, and Ryan.17National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. Mitchell F. Lundgaard He was posthumously promoted to driver/engineer, and the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation paid off his family’s mortgage in July 2019.18Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Mitchell Lundgaard A park on Appleton’s north side was named for him and dedicated in May 2020.
The Name-Change Loophole and Legislation
The case prompted calls to close the gap that let Houston’s record vanish behind a legal name change. Toney advocated for stricter requirements that judges review criminal history before approving name-change petitions.19WISN. Wisconsin Man Free on $500 Bail Fatally Shot Appleton Firefighter in 2019 In the 2025–26 legislative session, Wisconsin lawmakers introduced AB 124/SB 146, authored by Representative Joy Goeben and Senator Van Wanggaard. The bill would have imposed a lifetime ban on legal name changes for people convicted of any of the 97 offenses classified as “violent crimes” under Wisconsin law, with violations punishable as a Class H felony carrying up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The bill passed the state Senate but was vetoed by the governor in March 2025.20ACLU of Wisconsin. AB 124/SB 146 Name Change Ban