2 Men Were Fatally Shot on a Houston Freeway During Rush Hour — and Killer Is Still at Large
A freeway shooting during evening rush hour Thursday in Houston, Texas, left two men dead with a “high probability the murders are drug-related,” Houston’s police chief said Friday.
Multiple media reports carried accounts of the incident, as authorities said the manhunt for the suspect continued into Friday afternoon.
The shooting unfolded in the middle lanes of the I-10/East Freeway on the city’s east side after one vehicle rammed into a silver Nissan sedan just before 6 p.m., police said, reports Houston TV station KHOU.
As the struck vehicle spun out, two occupants of the second car got out, Assistant Chief Bobby Dobbins said at a news conference Thursday night, reports CNN.
The @houstonpolice investigation continues. There is a high probability the murders are drug related. Anyone with information is asked to call HPD Homicide at 713-308-3600 or @CrimeStopHOU at 713-222-8477 (TIPS) leading to an arrest(s) & charges for reward up to 5K. https://t.co/OPU68DnajD
— Chief Art Acevedo (@ArtAcevedo) August 9, 2019
One of those individuals opened fire through the windshield of the first car with a long rifle similar to an AR-15, according to police, reports Houston TV station KPRC.
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Neither of the two victims were identified by more than their ages, which police said were 25 and 33.
An armed witness who happened onto the scene then used his weapon to fire at the suspect, and “saw the suspect turn toward him; he thought he was going to be fired at. He had no idea what was going on,” Dobbins said, reports NBC News. “He fired several rounds at the suspect. He doesn’t know if he hit the suspect. But it did cause the suspect to run.”
The two victims in the Nissan died at the scene.
According to a statement from police: “Witnesses observed an unknown Hispanic male — possibly in his early 20s, thin build, about 5 feet 7 inches tall and wearing a red shirt — on the freeway running towards the victims’ vehicle, firing multiple times. The unknown suspect then fled the scene in a newer model, dark colored four door sedan, with unknown license plates.”
Police reported finding drugs inside the victims’ vehicle, but did not immediately say if they were tied to the shooting.
“We don’t know exactly what the nexus was behind this,” said Dobbins. “Road rage, an accident, narcotics — we just don’t know yet.”
The investigation and search for the shooter are ongoing.
