A tragic confrontation over a parking spot at the Houston Zoo escalated into gunfire on Friday afternoon, leaving 28-year-old Diamond Hunter hospitalized with multiple gunshot wounds. According to FOX 26 Houston, Hunter claims she was just moving her car when zoo security mistook her actions as an attempt to flee the scene.
The incident began with an argument with another individual about the parking spot, which, Hunter says, turned violent when the man struck her two-year-old son. "He backhanded my two-year-old son," Hunter told FOX 26 from her hospital bed. Although Houston police maintain that Hunter tried to take off, she insists she was only trying to move her vehicle in the lot.
Footage captured on a cell phone reveals the turmoil in the moments leading up to the shooting. In the turbulence, a security guard was hit by Hunter's car, which Houston police have pointed to as the precipitating action for the shooting. Following this, the security personnel opened fire into the vehicle, which still had kids inside, according to KTRK.
"He jumped in front of my car. I swerved, popped the curb, and as soon as I popped the curb that’s when I got shot, went blank, then hit the tree," recounted Hunter. The Houston Police Department has yet to file charges against either party involved in the incident and have declared that there is no ongoing threat to the public.
As Hunter recovers, she is vocal about her desire for justice: "I really want justice. This man is not getting away with it," she emphatically stated. None of the children involved were injured during the chaotic confrontation. The investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
