A teenager who attended a large house party where two Cypress Springs High School students died says gunshots began in the house and continued outside as people ran into the streets seeking cover.
Shaniqua Brown, 17, says Saturday evening's birthday party "was not rowdy at all," and many people were dancing when they heard the shots.
Authorities are seeking two gunmen who are ages 17 and 22.
A man and a woman were killed in the shooting, said Sheriff Adrian Garcia. Queric Richardson, 17, died at the party and a 16-year-old girl at Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center Hospital. The victims have not been named but Garcia said both attended Cypress Springs High School.
According to friends, both deceased teens attended Morton Ranch High School in the Katy Independent School District.
Richardson, a junior, who would have turned 18 on Thursday was remembered as a generous and humorous guy who loved to play basketball.
Britnee Segura, a 16-year-old junior at Morton Ranch High, was stunned to learn about the shootings when she awoke on Sunday, checked her Instagram account and saw her friend's photo with "RIP" in the comments.
She said she soon spoke to Queric's brother, Lawrence Guidry, by phone, who confirmed the death.
"e just said that he was hurt," she explained.
At least 19 others were wounded in the shooting, said Garcia.
The party was advertised on Twitter as an 18th birthday celebration with the hashtag #Fab3HouseParty. Brown said word about the party was also spread through Instagram, a photo-sharing app and website.
Garcia said promoting the party on social media likely invited strangers to the home.
He said evidence indicates that there was no one-on-one confrontation prior to the shooting.
The initial investigation indicates that someone pulled a pistol and fired one celebratory shot into the air, he said.
"Someone else recklessly reacted to the gunfire and shoots into the crowd," said Garcia, adding that about 10 shots were fired.
The Sheriff called the incident a "a horrible combination of immaturity, access to a firearm and the inability to control oneself."
Garcia said social media "caused part of the problem we're dealing with," but said social media could also help find the suspects.
"We are asking those armed with social media to help the Harris County Sheriff's Office bring closure to this incident," he said. "If you, out there, know someone involved in this case … I ask you to use your smart phone and download IWatchHarrisCounty (app)."
Partygoers scrambled after the first shots were fired about 11 p.m. at the home in the 7300 block of Enchanted Creek Drive, near Fry and FM 529, said Brown.
Pools of blood were visible outside the two-story brick home Sunday morning, and the garage door was bent after people had pushed it upward while trying to escape.
More than 100 people, mostly young adults, were at a house celebrating Mariah Boulden's birthday, said Thomas Gilliland, spokesman with the Sheriff's Office.
One of the wounded included a female, who was sent by Lifeflight helicopter ambulance to Memorial Hermann Hospital.
The others shot have injuries ranging from serious to non-life threatening, said Gilliland. Some were shot in the foot or ankle. Others were shot in the hip, he said. Most of the injured were from 17 to 20 and were taken to five area hospitals.
Three others not shot, but hurt in the incident, also were taken to a hospital, Gilliland said. They reported injuries such as twisted ankles. One neighbor said she thought a teen broke his leg trying to jump her fence as he fled the gunfire.
After the shooting, people were making a mad rush to get out of the house, he said. Witnesses told deputies that some people broke second-floor windows and jumped.
So many people were trying to get out of the garage, they forced the garage door forward and pushed it off its tracks, Gilliland said.
When deputies arrived, they saw some people lying on the ground and others running.
"It was a pretty chaotic scene," Gilliland said.
Hours after the shooting, A. Henry described how the celebration turned into terror.
He was in the house, near the kitchen when he heard the first shots.
"It sounded like a balloon popping," said the 19-year-old Cypress Springs graduate.
Partygoers suddenly got quiet, he said, then the gunfire returned.
Henry said he thinks he heard between 10 and 12 shots fired, but was uncertain because the situation was hectic. The shooting seems to last between three to five minutes, he said.
At one point, he was trying to move people toward the garage to help them and himself out. He saw two people on the floor, bleeding.
Uncertainty crossed his mind.
"I hope I make it out alive," he recalled thinking.
Karen Briones was visiting relatives in the neighborhood when they heard the shooting, she said.
She saw the party earlier Saturday when on her way to a convenience store. After Briones returned to her relatives' home, on the other side of the neighborhood, they heard gunfire. She and a few relatives drove back down the street to investigate, she said.
"Girls were crying and screaming, banging on people's doors asking them for help and to call 911," Briones said.
The party was advertised on Twitter as an 18th birthday celebration. Brown said word about the party was also spread through Instagram, a photo-sharing app and website.
At least one parent was in the house, said Christina Garza, a spokeswoman with the sheriff's office.
No drugs or alcohol are suspected in the shooting.
Garcia said Boulden's mother was in the home during the party.
Bruno Figueroa lives a few houses down the street and said he heard five to 10 shots. He looked out his window and saw a crowd of at least 30 people running down his street.
"Kids were running everywhere," he said.
Figueroa said people suddenly began ducking into back yards and behind vehicles in driveways, apparently trying to hide from a car that was slowly coming down the street. Figueroa said that from his upstairs window he could hear the people who were hiding nearby.
"They were crying, yelling, 'My brother got shot,' 'Why did they do this?'" he said.
Figueroa said as soon as the slow-moving car rounded a corner and then sped away, the people who had been hiding gathered back in the street.
The Associated Press contributed this story.
0 comments:
Post a Comment