HOUSTON – Houston police are investigating the fatal shooting of one man and the wounding of another in northwest Houston on Tuesday night.
Abdullah Shakur, 65, and his cousin Samer Salem, 32, were at a car stereo shop in the 7900 block of Antoine with the owner and several employees just before 8 p.m. when they saw three armed men with bandanas covering their faces approach the business.
Surveillance video from inside the business shows Shakur running outside to confront the gunmen, while everyone else runs for cover.
"Nobody knows but him," said witness Mohammed Dahadha when asked why he thought Shakur confronted the gunmen. "(Shakur) had seen the guns. He knew they had guns. He was trying to defend us."
Dahadha said Shakur, who was unarmed, tackled one of the gunmen.
"Shakur hit the guy and knocked him to the ground, which caused the (second gunman) to shoot him," Dahadha said.
Both men on the ground were hit with bullets, according to police.
"There was just shooting going on and everybody just running," Dahadha said.
Samer Salem, who also worked at the business, was shot in the collarbone. Salem was taken to an Memorial Hermann Hospital but survived. Shakur, a father of two, did not.
Witnesses said the third gunman made sure of that by firing several more shots at him.
"It was execution-style," Dahadha said. "And the fact that they executed Shakur, they need to be brought to justice. He was a Vietnam War veteran. He was lovable, always smiling. He was trying to protect us."
Police said the suspects might have arrived at the business in a light blue or silver 2001-03 Ford Mustang.
Anyone with information in this case is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.