HOUSTON — Police are looking for two people they're calling persons of interest after a deadly shooting in downtown Houston early Thursday. They released surveillance video hours later an an afternoon news conference.
The shooting happened just before 1:30 a.m. at the intersection of Lamar and Austin.
At the news conference, Commander Chris Hassig with the Houston Police Department gave new details in the shooting. He said four relatives, three brothers and a cousin, were walking in a group downtown when they came across two people who were in in the intersection with a tripod set up.
Hassig said there were words exchanged and two men from the group of four walked toward the two people with the tripod. At some point, things escalated and one person with the tripod pulled out a gun, shooting the man who had approached them twice. That 20-year-old shooting victim was taken to Ben Taub Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police originally said it was a woman who did the shooting. At the news conference, they said it’s not clear if the shooter was a man or a woman.
"The shooter that we believe it responsible, white individual, we are uncertain of gender at this point, long hair, appears slim in build," Hassig said. "At the time of the shooting, was wearing a yellow and black costume, outfit, it had a yellow and black striped tail, it was rather baggy, had a hoodie."
The second person was a male with long black hair and a pink or orange t-shirt.
Police are now looking for those two people to talk to them and get their side. They said the pair got into a white Mazda 3 hatchback and left. The model year is between 2019 and 2024. It had three stickers on the back left window as well as another sticker on the rear window.
The alleged shooter may have taken off the costume before walking to the car.
We will continue to update this story as we get new information.