Houston is investigating a mass shooting that occurred at a pop-up party in North Houston last night, resulting in the deaths of two teenagers and injuries to three others. The Houston Police Department responded to the scene at 11:20 p.m. on the 10100 block of Jensen Drive, where they found a large crowd, mostly juveniles, leaving the area.
According to abc13, HPD confirmed that the victims included a 16-year-old boy and girl, both of whom died from their injuries. A 13-year-old remains in critical condition at Texas Children's Hospital, while a 19-year-old woman went to LBJ Hospital on her own. The condition of a fifth victim was not mentioned. Investigators are facing challenges due to the unregulated nature of the venue, which had no surveillance or security, complicating their efforts to understand the events leading to the violence.
Assistant Chief Luis Menendez of the HPD, quoted in a report from Click2Houston, said "Since they’re not under any regulations, which is what causes the problems with these type of events with no regulations, there’s nothing guarding it."
HPD has not been able to release information regarding a suspect or a getaway vehicle. They are calling on potential witnesses to come forward, urging the community to aid in the investigative process. "If you were here tonight, we need your help. If you were a witness to what happened, we need you to call that number. We need you to give us information, so we can bring these people to justice," said Menendez-Sierra, according to abc13.
The Mayor of Houston, John Whitmire, told Click2Houston, "It's a tragedy. I feel for the families. We ought to keep them in our prayers. We lost some young people tonight that was very preventable, if they didn’t come to locations such as this."
