HOUSTON — Four people, the youngest being 10 years old, were wounded in a shooting in southeast Houston on Thursday night.
According to Houston police, it happened at a house along Collier Street, which is north of Highway 90 alt and west of the Gulf Freeway.
At a news conference Thursday night, HPD Assistant Chief Megan Howard said that at around 9 p.m., three men in masks approached the family who was out on the porch and the masked gunmen approached them. The family was able to run back inside moments before the gunman knocked on the door.
Eventually, the front door was opened and two of the suspects began firing inside.
Howard said that the victims were all juveniles, ages 10, 14, 15 and 16. Three of them were hit in their extremities and one in the abdomen. All four were taken to the hospital.
KHOU 11’s Deevon Rahming spoke with the aunt of the victims who said the four that were shot were her two nieces and nephews.
She said her 15-year-old nephew who was shot is in the ICU after being shot in the stomach. He is on a breathing tube and also lost a kidney.
The aunt we spoke with says her sister-in-law opened the door to see if maybe she could "resolve things with the masked suspects" who then pushed her out of the way and started shooting inside the home, before running off.
After the shooting, Howard said the suspects ran off. She wasn’t able to give any information about a getaway car.
Investigators believe this was likely targeted and there’s not a threat to the community.
The family is devastated after the traumatizing incident.
"They didn't care who was shot, they just started shooting everywhere," the aunt of the kids said.
Grandfather Jose Berrones said he remembers the moment the shots rang out. He said one of his grandsons kept yelling that he thought he was going to die.
He said the gunman told them that if they didn't open the door, they would knock it down and kill everyone inside.
A cousin said it started over a beef on social media.
"It's just a really dumb reason to come and do something, especially because there's little kids living in this house and elderly people," a cousin said.
It's not the first time they said things got violent. A couple of weeks ago an SUV was shot up but no one was inside.
The 15-year-old was injured the worst and remained unconscious in ICU on Friday night. He lost his kidney and part of his colon.
The 10-year-old was grazed by a bullet and was able to go back home to recover.
Even with bullet holes surrounding a cross at their home, their faith is strong.
If you have any information about this incident, you're asked to contact HPD at 713-884-3131 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477.