HOUSTON — A third person has died and at least eight others were hurt when gunfire rang out at a block party in northeast Houston early Saturday morning, police say.
This happened on Laura Koppe Road at Lockwood Drive.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Police originally said that up to 11 people total were shot with two dead. Later on Saturday, they said three people were killed and six hurt. On Sunday, HPD reported three people were killed and eight were hurt.
The Houston Police Department said a large crowd had gathered for a block party when a white pickup truck drove by and started shooting. Police believe there were at least three suspects.
Family identified two victims as 23-year-old Breon Stuard and 24-year-old Jarvis Faultry. A third victim succumbed to his injuries Saturday night. He has not been named.
Those hurt include seven men and one woman, ranging in age from 22 to 49. Police said they all suffered gunshot wounds. They were taken to area hospitals and are expected to survive.
KHOU 11's Katiera Winfrey spoke with one of the people injured in the shooting about how it went down.
"All good and dandy and then all of a sudden, just like you said, hell broke loose," said one man who said he was shot in the foot. "I don't have no words. I just feel bad for what happened out of nowhere."
HPD said investigators found two different types of shell casings at the scene, indicating there may have been multiple shooters.
A woman who witnessed the shooting called it chaotic.
"I was thinking, 'Just stay low and try to live,'" said Sanaa Hillary. "I had to crawl. I scratched up my knees, my shoe broke, and hid behind a car."
She said she grew up with one of the men who was killed.
"It was just a senseless act of violence that could have been avoided," Hillary said. "You got to think about everybody out here, you got to put your differences to the side. You got to think about the safety, and these are lives that people are taking away."
The truck involved was last seen driving west on Laura Koppe toward I-59. Investigators said surveillance video in the area was low quality, making it hard to give a good description of the suspects. There's no word on a motive.
"We don't know if there's a motive and what the motive may be," Heaverlo said. "It's important that the public realize, without their assistance, a lot of these don't get solved."
If you know anything about what happened, you're asked to contact HPD homicide at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477.
"It breaks my heart that there is a bunch of people out here behaving, having a good time, minding their business, and the next thing you know everyone is scattering because of gunfire," Heaverlo said. "This didn't need to happen, it shouldn't have happened."
Watch the update police gave at the scene: