A typical Houston rush hour has turned into a major gun battle after a gunman armed with a semi-automatic rifle killed two people and was forced to flee the scene when one of the witnesses opened return fire.

Houston police are still trying to figure out what exactly happened that led to a gunfight in the middle of the I-10 freeway shortly before 6:00pm local time. The wild scene apparently unfolded after a sedan struck another vehicle, forcing it to spin out.

As the car was spinning, one “Hispanic male” suspect got out of the car and started firing at the vehicle, with what one witness described as a very “big gun” and another identified as an apparent AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. Once the car came to a halt, the suspect fired additional rounds, leaving both “middle-aged black male” occupants dead on the scene. Police said another suspect may have also been involved.

I-10 eastbound closed at federal as @houstonpolice investigate a double homicide that happened on the freeway. Eyewitnesses say man got out of car on freeway with a ”really big gun” and stared shooting. https://t.co/mrJPMq7zIw#abc13pic.twitter.com/2y2nB4PKy0 — Jessica Willey (@ImJessicaWilley) August 9, 2019

Possible further casualties were averted once one of the witnesses, scared for his life, intervened and shot back at the gunman. “He fired several rounds at the suspect,” HPD Assistant Chief Bobby Dobbins told reporters. “He does not know if he hit the suspect but he did cause the suspect to run and get in the vehicle and leave the scene.”

The shooter remains at large after fleeing the scene, police said. Authorities are now looking for additional witnesses to determine the circumstances surrounding the shooting. Narcotics, which local media described as a trash bag with marijuana, were found in the victims’ car.

“Road rage? An accident? Narcotics? We don't know yet,” Dobbins stressed, seeking the public's collaboration.

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