Police say gunman’s car contained ‘numerous weapons’ and was being investigated by a bomb squad after people were shot at inside their cars

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Multiple people were shot inside their cars near a Houston shopping center on Monday morning, by a gunman whose own vehicle contained “numerous weapons” and was being examined by a bomb squad, police said.

Six people were taken to local hospitals and three who were struck by debris and glass were treated on the scene and released, said Martha Montalvo, interim chief at the Houston police department.

One of the six people taken to hospital was in critical condition, authorities said, and another was in serious condition.

Montalvo said police received a call reporting gunfire at 6.29am. A gunman shot at the officers who arrived on the scene and police returned fire. The suspect was pronounced dead soon after, Montalvo said.

The only information immediately released about the gunman’s identity was that: “He is a lawyer and there were issues concerning his law firm.”

Houston’s mayor, Sylvester Turner, told local station KTRK-TV that the lawyer was “disgruntled” and was “either fired or had a bad relationship with this law firm”.

Law enforcement officials were investigating what was believed to be the suspect’s vehicle, a Porsche. “It has numerous weapons and we are bringing in the bomb squad to secure it’s safe,” Montalvo said.



The shooting happened in a parking lot in Houston’s Upper Kirby commercial district, a wealthy neighborhood that has red phone booths installed on street corners because it shares the same initials as the UK.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Alan Wakim shows his wife, Jennifer Molleda, where two bullets entered his windshield and went past his face. Photograph: Mark Mulligan/AP

Jennifer Molleda and her husband live in the same condo complex as the shooter. Though she heard gunshots about 6.12am and called 911, her husband left for work. The 45-year-old called him not long after, she told the Associated Press, and he told her: “I’m hit, I’m hit.”

After the shooting stopped at 7.15am, Molleda found her husband, 49-year-old Alan Wakim, several blocks away in the parking lot of a nearby strip mall. Two shots had gone through the windshield of his Mustang, and he told her he saw a red laser beam before the shots were fired. He was taken to a hospital to be treated.

“He got out of his car, we hugged, we cried,” Molleda said, adding that she believed the man was “aiming to kill”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Police investigate the suspect’s car on Monday after the shooting in Houston. Photograph: Mark Mulligan/AP

Molleda added that a few weeks ago, the suspect brandished an assault-style weapon at roofers in the condo complex. She did not know him very well, she said, but described him as quiet.

“He’s a normal, average Joe,” she said.

Lee Williams left his home in the neighborhood upon hearing gunshots and began directing traffic away from the condo complex, noting that people usually cut through the area to avoid some busier intersections.

One car ignored him, he said, and was immediately shot at. Williams couldn’t see the gunman because it was dark, but believed he saw the muzzle flashes.

“Whatever cars were going by, he was shooting at them,” the 55-year-old said, noting he heard at least 50 gunshots over 40 or so minutes. As Williams was being interviewed, neighbors came by and patted him on the back, thanking him for keeping people safe.

The incident occurred just two days after a gunman opened fire in a Washington state mall, killing five people. A suspect in that incident was taken into custody on Sunday. A little over a week earlier, an attacker at a mall in St Cloud, Minnesota, stabbed 10 people before being shot dead by an off-duty police officer.

