Sleeping 12-year-old struck by gunfire as 100 shots fired at nearby club, TX cops say
A 12-year-old boy sleeping in his apartment was injured when up to 100 shots were fired at a nightclub across the street, Texas cops say.
The shooting happened around 2:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 12, in northwest Houston, Harris County Sheriff Lt. Cedrick Collier said during a news briefing.
Collier said the boy was sleeping on the couch when the shooting took place outside the club. Between 80 and 100 shots were fired, and one of the rounds came through the boy’s apartment window and struck him in the abdomen, the sheriff’s office said.
He was taken to a hospital, where he is listed in fair condition, Collier said. Sheriff Ed Gonzalez described the boy’s wounds as “serious.”
“It’s just reckless and senseless,” Collier said in the news briefing streamed by KPRC. “As you can see, gun violence is on the rise, and we as a community have to come together and put a stop to it.”
Surveillance video shows several men in front of the club firing at one another, taking cover and then firing more shots, Collier said. Gonzalez said an assault rifle may have been involved in the shooting.
At least five suspects were involved in the shooting, and they may still be at the club as of late Thursday morning, the lieutenant said. Members of the SWAT team were assisting in the investigation.
The shooting of the 12-year-old comes less than a week after a 14-year-old was shot and killed in Houston when he was robbed of his shoes.
“Last week the shooting death of a teen over the shoes he wore. Today, the shooting of a teen as he slept in his apartment,” Gonzalez said on Twitter. “This should not happen and we’re p----- about it. We’re going to do everything we can to get those responsible for it. It’s a chaotic scene, we have investigators there, help them get to the bottom of this.”
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the sheriff’s department at 713-221-6000.
This story was originally published May 12, 2022 at 10:47 AM with the headline "Sleeping 12-year-old struck by gunfire as 100 shots fired at nearby club, TX cops say."