The Motel 6 at the Katy Freeway and Highway 6 had been home to the dad and his two boys for about a year. Tuesday likely began as an ordinary day when the dad went to the front office to pay the bill.
"While he was paying the bill, that's when the incident happened," explained Sgt. Bobby Roberts with HPD Homicide. "So when the dad came back, that is what he discovered when he came back."
The younger boy was hit in the torso and found crumpled on the floor. Investigators say the dad scooped the boy up and ran outside, yelling for help. Paramedics were working on the boy when homicide investigators arrived.
Houston police say the gun was a rifle of some sort, and at this point, they believe it belongs to the dad.
Investigators are still working to figure out exactly what happened between the two boys in room 138 of the Motel 6 Tuesday morning. So far, they say, it appears to be accidental and that they think the eight-year-old may have shot his little brother.Sgt. Roberts said, "With the two children, you know, with dad not being there, the only other person that's going to know what happened is going to be the eight-year-old child."
Police say the dad was distraught when they interviewed him and the eight-year-old boy appeared to be upset as well.
"I haven't talked to the child," Sgt. Roberts said. "He's a young child. I'm going to have him interviewed by a psychologist as opposed to me talking to him. He's just got his head down and I'm sure he's pretty distraught as well."
We are told the family is from California. There's no word at this point why they were here or why they'd been living at the motel. The mother apparently had lived here until about two weeks ago, and at last check, police were still trying to locate her.
At this point, no charges are expected.
