Shooting and crash linked to Air Jordan shoes

A man was shot and then crashed a car Friday after two people demanded his newly purchased Nike Air Jordan shoes, Harris County officials said.

The man was discovered shot about 10:30 a.m. in the 1700 block of Plumwood near Hallfield, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. He was taken to Houston Northwest Medical Center. His condition was not released, but deputies said he had a life-threatening gunshot wound.

Deputies said the man and another man had just returned to one of their homes from Willowbrook Mall, where they had bought Air Jordan XI "Bred" tennis shoes. As the driver pulled up to the front of his home, two men in a green, four-door vehicle pulled in front of them. An armed man got out of the car, deputies said, approached the men and demanded their new shoes.

The driver ran, and the gunman opened fire on him. The driver was not hurt.

As the passenger tried to drive away, a second armed man opened fire on him, wounding him.

The car cashed into a gas meter at a nearby house, rupturing the gas line.

The gunmen sped away in their car. Whether the attackers took a pair of shoes was unclear. One pair remained at the crime scene stuffed in a white plastic bag on the lawn.

CenterPoint Energy workers later turned off the gas to the home where the gas line was damaged.

A neighbor, Sharon Richardson, said she was in her bedroom when she heard several shots in the street. She grabbed her own handgun and went outside. She said she saw the man who had run when the attackers tried to rob him. She said he told her that the men had demanded the sneakers. She called 911.

"It's sad," Richardson said. "It's heart-wrenching."

The latest style of the popular court shoe, Air Jordan XI "Bred," was released in stores Friday morning. Some people stood in line for hours to buy them.

The shoes retail for about $185.