LEAGUE CITY, Texas -- A police sniper shot and killed a man who barricaded himself inside his League City apartment Monday afternoon.

League City Police Lt. Dan Krieger said Raymond T. Lee, 63, took aim at officers with a pistol before the sniper killed him with a single shot.

Lee intermittently fired at least a dozen shots from a pistol inside his apartment during a two-hour standoff with police before taking aim at the officers, Krieger said.

The havoc disrupted a quiet afternoon at Sorrento at Tuscan Lakes, 1455 Louisiana Ave., where residents said a one-bedroom apartment leases for $1,000.

People who live in the same building as Lee fled their apartments, some carrying their children as officers holding guns led them to safety, witnesses said.

Krieger said Lee’s relatives told investigators he had been acting strangely, so the relatives went to his apartment and asked the manager for help entering because he would not open the door. The manager called police at about 4:20 p.m., and when officers arrived, Lee started shooting inside the apartment.

Josh Erickson, who lives in a neighboring building, watched as Lee threw a bookshelf, storage containers and a television through his window and onto the balcony and stairway outside. He also placed a mattress in front of the window, Erickson said.

Angela Minter, who lives on the ground floor below Lee’s third-story apartment, said she saw him wielding a bat and beating things with it before tossing items outside.

Erickson said the relatives stood near Lee’s red Ford Mustang in a covered parking space during the standoff.

Krieger said officers tried to communicate with Lee through his apartment door and through the broken window. He sometimes responded with gunfire.

Late Monday, police were still trying to determine what prompted Lee to shoot. Krieger said it didn’t appear police had been called to the apartment before. He said Lee may have had medical problems, but it wasn’t clear if they were related to the shooting.

Furniture and clothing were strewn about the apartment, which Krieger described as “a mess.” After the sniper shot Lee, officers fired tear gas into the apartment as a precautionary measure in case anyone else had been inside.

The Galveston County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shooting. It’s standard procedure to bring in another agency in shootings involving officers, Krieger said.

Some residents were unable to access their apartments for hours Monday afternoon. At 7:40 p.m., crime scene tape remained around the building, and a white sheet hung on the balcony, blocking it from view. Lee’s body was still inside the apartment.

Minter said she had spoken to Lee several times, including on Monday morning. She described him as a short, bald man who often walking around with no shirt on. She said he seemed friendly.

“Nothing ever happens around here,” Minter said. “It’s real quiet and peaceful. Everybody goes to work, comes home and goes to sleep.”