Teens shot in separate incidents in SW Houston

Both shootings happened in southwest Houston just blocks away near Fondren and Bissonnet

Just before midnight Tuesday, a 15-year-old boy was shot outside a southwest Houston apartment complex. He was said to be walking from a friend's house.

"We understand the suspect ran up and shot him and ran away," said Sgt. C.E. Elliot. "We're processing the scene here and looking for any evidence or information we can come up with."

A couple of miles away hours earlier and at a different apartment complex, another teenager was shot in what may be an unrelated crime. He was 14 years old, described as a young panhandler in the area. People knew him by sight, but not by name.

"He was standing around, asking people for money or talking to some people he does know," said apartment complex resident Robert Sanchez. "That's about it."

Before dawn on Monday, the boy was shot at the apartment complex courtyard. He sought help on a porch with a cross over the door. The family inside hit the floor when they heard gunshots. But Maria Munoz walked outside.

"Because he was asking for help," she said.

He had broken a window calling for help. Munoz applied towels to the wound and held him until help arrived, treating him like he was her own...and that's the sad part.

"I'm not anyone to judge anyone," said Munoz. "But to me, it's mom's fault and the father."

Both boys, according to police, remain at Ben Taub Hospital. The 15-year-old is said to have a spinal injury. The 14-year-old was shot in one of his lungs.