HOUSTON – A neighborhood was blocked off with crime scene tape. Behind the tape, several evidence markers placed next to bullet casings painted a picture of where the shots rang out during a cellphone transaction gone wrong in the overnight hours.
Deputies said the incident unfolded around 1 a.m. Thursday on Ashford Green near Crescent Breeze in southwest Harris County.
Authorities said a man and a pregnant woman brought a 14-year-old boy to the location to sell an iPhone to people he met on Instagram.
However, instead of a smooth transaction, the deal turned sour and the buyers opened fire and stole the boy’s phone, authorities said.
When first responders arrived they found bullets struck two people.
One bullet hit the teen in his hand, and another grazed the back of the adult man. The pregnant woman was not hit.
The 14-year-old was taken to a hospital to be treated for the wound.
Authorities did not give a detailed description of the gunmen, but they did say the men took off in a gray vehicle. Deputies believe there were between two to five people involved.
Patrick Doellman was skating through the neighborhood early Thursday morning and was shocked to see the crime scene tape.
“That many shots to fire at somebody, that’s just crazy,” said Doellman when he heard what had happened. “You know, those rounds could go anywhere. They could have penetrated numerous of these houses, somebody else could have got hit (like) an innocent bystander.”
Deputies are not sure why the transaction went down in the neighborhood, but they are in contact with the 14-year-boy in an effort to get a better description of the suspect and learn exactly what took place.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.