HOUSTON – Bullets fired Thursday during a drive-by shooting at a southeast Houston apartment complex narrowly missed a child who was sleeping at the time, according to family members.
“I was laying down and it came past me, hit the light, hit the wall right there, went in the closet and went somewhere in the closet,” 8-year-old Montrell Whitfield said. "I would have been dead and I would end my life last night."
The shooting was reported just after 10:45 p.m. at the Kings Row Apartments on Barberry Drive.
“My kids' beds was against this wall and it came through right here and it went this way and straight through this wall,” Montrell’s mother, Cheri Whitfield, said about where the bullet went.
A bullet that went through the wall into Montrell’s room and a second bullet one bullet went through the next-door bedroom where his siblings were.
“It curved and hit this,” Whitfield said about the bullet going through the wall and hitting the metal on the child’s bunkbed.
Houston police said they believe the gunman exited a white Kia and began firing at an apartment building. They said the gunman got back into his vehicle and started shooting again.
"I don't feel safe anymore because my kids could have been in there. My son, anyonem could have been hit. No one can bring my kids back,” Sharonda Lawrence said.
She said a bullet went through her bedroom window, through the door and into the living room. Her son was not in the room at the time, but her other children were home.
“I don’t feel comfortable here no more. I don’t even feel safe here. I’m ready to go I just want them to get us somewhere else to stay,” Lawrence said. “I mean, I’ve seen so much but now it hit my house.”
Investigators said they found several shell casings at the scene.
Two women who live in the apartment building said their units were hit by the bullets. Several bullet holes could be seen in their apartments.
One of the women said her child was asleep when the shooting began. She said one of the bullets hit her child’s bed.
Police said it was too early to determine a motive for the shooting.
No injuries were reported.
Community activist Quanell X said even though the complex has security guards, there are not enough guards for the size of the complex.
“If we can find the money to send troops to Afghanistan to protect Afghani citizens and stabilize security, why can’t we do it here in the city of Houston where every time you turn on the television, somebody’s been shot, somebody is dying in one of these apartment complexes?” Quanell X said.
He said he knows city officials are aware of the problem and are concerned. The community activist said he believes it’s up to the apartment complexes.
“You know who has the financial recourses? These apartment complexes owners who are taking this monthly check from the government in the form of housing payments,” Quanell X said. “They have the money to hire adequate and thorough security. Two security officers for an apartment complex this size is ridiculous and an insult.”
King’s Row Apartments said it does have two armed security guards on the property.
“We are concerned for the safety of our staff and residents and want to work closely with police,” said Laura Zaner, spokeswoman for Interstate Realty Management Co. also known as The Michaels Organization which is based in New jersey.
Zaner said they are aware of the shooting and the damage to the apartments. She said someone will come to fix the window on Saturday.
She said there was one guard on duty when the shooting happened and usually security stays until 1 a.m.
"Our property is located fairly close, about half a mile of a police substation,” Zaner said. “Our management team has been in dialogue with police to see if we can get an increase in police presence. We know that there are recourse constraints, we also are trying to work with police to see if they can increase their presence."
