HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — A family is physically okay but emotionally shaken up after someone fired several shots into their northwest Harris County home earlier this week.
It happened July 5 in the Heron Lakes Estates subdivision near Beltway 8 and Highway 249.
As Iqbal Singh’s parents and child slept in a bed just before 2 a.m. that Tuesday when he said they felt bullets whizzing inches over their heads and heard up to nine shots coming from the backyard, which were captured on surveillance cameras.
“Yeah, it feels really scary, especially with a kid,” said Singh.
After Singh drove straight home from work that day, which was 1,000 miles away at the time, he found rounds had hit a bedroom’s headboard and multiple windows.
“It’s just so sad,” said Singh. “We didn’t expect this.”
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office took the case.
“It appears that the projectile came from the roadway feeder or along the Beltway 8," an HCSO spokesperson told KHOU 11 on Friday. "There is a wooded area south of the homes before the feeder. No nexus for them being targeted, though they are Sikh.”
Singh initially thought the same thing until he took a closer look at the hundreds of feet of space between the Beltway and his house, which includes several trees and other obstacles.
“It doesn’t add up,” said Singh. “You could hear the footsteps. You could feel the shots are really close to the house.”
Singh said they’ve never received threats and don’t know who did this.
One family member noted a suspicious vehicle seen on their surveillance video around 11 p.m., 12 a.m., and 1 a.m. before the 1:43 a.m. shooting.
Singh’s neighbors told KHOU 11 that they’re worried too, saying that members of their community have been victims of crime in that neighborhood as well.
On the night of July 5, the nearby Sikh National Center hosted a community meeting to show solidarity with the family.
“The concern in the community has been building as these episodes of ignorant people doing ignorant things,” said Dr. Hardam Singh Azad, the chairman for the Sikh National Center.
Dr. Azad said members shared their concerns with Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.
“We found him to be very understanding, and he took notes,” said Dr. Azad. “We expect him to be doing whatever the sheriff department does.”
For now, Iqbal and his family have added lighting outside their home, but they’re still missing peace inside.
“We gotta sleep with one eye open, you know?” he said.
The HCSO spokesperson said Friday afternoon this case has been referred to investigators for follow-up.
Anyone with information on this incident should call 713-221-6000.