A late-night stop for gas turned into a shootout early Sunday on the Southwest Freeway, leaving a man with a gunshot wound to his foot, according to Houston police.
The gunfire broke out around 1 a.m. at a gas station in the 6500 block of the Southwest Freeway near Hillcroft. Police say two vehicles pulled into the station, and people from both cars started shooting at each other. The wounded man was taken to a nearby hospital, and officers expect him to survive.
Police Detail Chaotic Scene
Officers arrived to find an adult man with a gunshot wound to his foot, Click2Houston reports. Investigators said one vehicle had stopped near an air pump while the other parked between pumps. People from both cars then got out and exchanged gunfire.
By the time police pulled up, everyone involved in the shooting had already taken off, leaving behind shell casings, a wounded victim and a lot of unanswered questions. Houston police say the investigation is ongoing.
Part of a Worrying Local Pattern
Gas-station shootings have been popping up across Houston in recent months, sometimes with far more tragic outcomes. In April, a shooting at a station near Fondren and Harwin left a 17-year-old dead, according to FOX 26 Houston. Earlier this year, the Houston Chronicle detailed several high-profile gas-station confrontations and the legal fallout that followed.
Altogether, the cases have kept patrol units and detectives busy at convenience stores and pumps across multiple neighborhoods.
How to Help
Houston police are asking anyone with information about the Southwest Freeway shootout to call the department at (713) 884-3131 or Crime Stoppers at (713) 222-TIPS, according to Click2Houston. Detectives especially want to hear from witnesses who may have cellphone video or other details that could explain what sparked the confrontation.
Police have not yet released the names of anyone involved.
