A 12-year-old is recovering in the hospital after being shot while sitting in a parent's minivan outside a business on Barker Cypress Road, with deputies saying the child was struck near the shoulder when gunfire meant for someone else tore through the parking lot. The child's three siblings were also in the vehicle at the time. The shooting happened Friday night in the 8700 block of Barker Cypress Road in Houston.
According to HCSOTexas
, the family had parked outside a business while waiting for another family member to arrive, positioned between a lifted black truck and a dark-colored sedan. Detectives learned that someone inside the sedan fired multiple shots toward the truck as it moved through the parking lot, while the sedan itself was traveling northbound on Barker Cypress Road when the gunfire erupted. The 12-year-old was hospitalized and is listed in fair condition, per the same account.
Family Caught Between Two Vehicles
The minivan carrying the wounded child also held the child's parent and three siblings, all of whom were present when the shots rang out, the sheriff's office said. Investigators have not said what prompted the gunfire between the sedan and the truck, and the case remains an open, active investigation. No suspect description, vehicle occupants, or motive has been released.
The investigation into the shooting remains ongoing.
Part of a Troubling Pattern on Houston Roads
Shootings that erupt between vehicles and spill over onto bystanders have surfaced in the Houston area before. In 2021, two children were injured in a crash caused by a road-rage shooting in north Harris County, according to KHOU 11. In 2019, a 1-year-old was struck in the back after a driver fired into another vehicle during a separate road-rage incident, ABC13 reported at the time. That same year, a child was injured by flying glass during a drive-by shooting on the Eastex Freeway, according to Click2Houston. The incidents underscore how often Houston-area families have ended up caught in the crossfire of disputes between drivers.
For now, the investigation into what happened on Barker Cypress Road remains ongoing, with no arrests or charges announced. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers of Houston as detectives continue trying to identify who fired the shots that struck the young passenger.
