One person died and at least 13 were injured in a shooting Sunday night during a candlelight vigil near Houston, according to the county police chief.
The shooting occurred around 6:40 p.m., when about 50 people were gathered for a celebration of life near the North Market Loop in Baytown, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Houston, according to Ed Gonzalez, head of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
“It was just as they were releasing the balloons that the vehicle arrived,” he said. “Almost at that precise moment was when they opened fire on a crowd.”
One of the injured was evacuated to a hospital by helicopter, Gonzalez said. One of the injured was believed to be a small child, he noted.
It was too early to say if the shooting could be gang related, Gonzalez added.
“It’s not like those bullets have eyes, so it just puts everyone at risk,” the police chief said.
One witness, Sidney Williams, told KTRK-TV that “people were screaming and running to their cars.”