Chaos unfolded on the East Loop yesterday night after a carjacking incident evolved into a high-speed chase and a shootout, leaving two men injured. As reported by KHOU, the incident kicked off around 6:45 p.m. near Martin Luther King Boulevard and West Bellfort Avenue when a man's vehicle was stolen from him at a convenience store.
According to Houston Police, the victim, determined not to let his car slip away, tracked it down using his cell phone left inside the stolen car; he then got into another vehicle with someone and pursued his car, leading to a confrontation on the East Loop near Clinton, where police say the gunfire erupted, a shootout occurred between the two, leaving one man grazed by a bullet on the cheek and another wounded in the lower body, both expected to recover. Click2Houston confirmed that a third vehicle was also present at the scene, which fled post-shootout and is suspected to be connected to the initial car theft.
Lt. Riley from the Houston Police Department said to KHOU, "It's a big mess right now, but investigators are working on it." Both victims turned up at area hospitals, and authorities believe that one of the injured was the pursuer of the stolen car, while the other was presumably involved in the car theft.
The carjacking victim, who remarkably escaped physical injury during the chase and subsequent shootout, returned to the original convenience store scene where police discovered he was carrying narcotics. The shooting is under heavy investigation by HPD's Robbery Division to ascertain the appropriate charges, who should be charged, and the dynamic between the shootout parties and narcotics found.
