HOUSTON — Family members identified a young mother who was shot and killed Thursday night during a party she was throwing for her 6-year-old.
They said 25-year-old Jalen Easterling was gunned down and they know who the shooter is -- the father of Easterling's two children. Police said they knew who the shooter was and he's still on the run. They haven't released his identity.
The shooting happened Thursday night at a house on Locksley Road, which is in a neighborhood near the intersection of Wayside Drive and Tidwell Road.
Houston police said Easterling and her new boyfriend were throwing a birthday party for her 6-year-old when a little after 8:30 p.m., the father of the child showed up and an argument broke out at the front door. That's when they said shots were fired and Easterling was shot in front of her children, boyfriend and others. She died at the scene.
Neighbors were left ducking for cover when the shots rang out.
"My heart dropped. I was terrified. It was loud and it sounded like it was going into my house," Felicia Adams said.
Adams and her two children were in the adjoining townhome at the time. She said they heard shouting just before the shooting started.
"He was angry. He was shouting and screaming," Adams said about the shooting.
Her home wasn’t hit with the gunfire but she later found bullet holes in her car.
"It was scary. My kids, they were terrified. I have a 5-year-old and she wouldn’t stop crying," Adams said.
Houston police said they had responded to child custody calls at the house in the past. Investigators said the shooter left the scene in a white Tahoe. They advised the shooter to turn himself in to explain his side of the story.
Adams said she’d be willing to help whenever he is taken into custody.
"I know they know who he is and I hope I can identify him correctly and we can start bringing this to justice," she said.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the Houston Police Department or Crime Stoppers.
Here's the update police gave at the scene on Thursday night: