HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — Three people were shot during a large afterparty at a rental home in west Harris County, according to Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.
Editorial note: A previous version of this story had information from the sheriff that it was an Airbnb rental. We contacted Airbnb, who confirmed that it is not one of their properties.
The shooting happened just before midnight at a home on Bridgemeadows Lane, which is near Clay Road and the Grand Parkway.
Gonzalez said about 200 people were at the after-party, most of which were teenagers, when someone at the party opened fire. Three people were shot, including a 17-year-old and two 18-year-olds, according to Gonzalez. The suspect left the home after the shooting.
All three victims sustained non-life threatening injuries and are currently stable. Gonzalez said the party was actually a homecoming after-party for students at Paetow High School.
Neighbors of the property described the night as complete chaos.
"I just heard a whole bunch of gunshots go off at once," neighbor Mason Row said. "Ran downstairs, came outside, seen people busting through the fence."
The property's owner, Bolade Abioye, said he was shocked by what he came home to.
"I said, 'Jesus Christ, I don’t know what to do,'" he said.
Abioye said his home was recently pulled off of AirBnB but he was contacted by someone who had seen it advertised before it was taken down. He said he agreed to rent it out as a private transaction.
"On Friday, she just called and asked if is it too late to cancel and if it's OK for them to stay the night that their family was coming from somewhere, three of them," Abioye said.
He said he'll never rent out his property again.
Airbnb released the following statement in regards to the listing of the home:
"The listing was removed weeks ago by Airbnb and all reservations were canceled. I can’t get into what the policy violations were."
Katy ISD issued the following statement regarding the incident:
"The District is aware of the incident. No student enrolled in Katy ISD resides at the residence under investigation, nor, at this time, has any Katy ISD student been identified as an individual connected to the reported rental of the property."
Anyone with information on what happened is asked to contact the Harris County Sheriff's Office at (713) 221-6000 or Crime Stoppers at (713) 222-TIPS.