A double shooting in a northwest Harris County neighborhood left two brothers seriously wounded. They knew the suspected gunman but his exact motive may never be known, because he's dead.
It was a violent night that began and ended in a quiet cul-de-sac on Redcliff at West Road. The dead man is the former father-in-law of one of the victims.
It was supposed to be a typical Fourth of July. Brothers Roberto and Ricardo Garcia visited their sister Ana for a holiday family dinner, until night fell and the neighbor came knocking on the door.
"Who knows what was going through his mind," said Ana Garcia. "He was drunk. He came knocking on the door, and my brothers came out. It all happened right there."
But it wasn't just any neighbor. Garcia says the man was the ex-father-law of brother Roberto. Investigators say that man quickly opened fire at both brothers.
Ana's husband Ray Salazar explained, "They're just outside talking and out of nowhere he backs out to the street pulls out a gun, and shoots Rick in the throat and starts chasing the other brother and shooting and shooting and shooting."
The brothers were severely injured but the violence wouldn't end there. Harris County Sheriff's deputies say the man apparently then walked back across the cul-de-sac to his home, where he turned the gun on himself.
Neighbors who heard the shots initially didn't even know it was gunfire.
"I assumed it was fireworks," said neighbor David Alleman. "It was the Fourth of July.
But Alleman and others would soon realize that something horrible happened in their neighborhood.
He said, "By the time I got back this place was full of cops. It was cops with shot guns pulled out. It looked like they were snipers."
Family members say both brothers have undergone surgery and they're praying for their survival. They say it's still touch and go for both brothers, who suffered multiple gunshot wounds.
Sheriff's investigators say for now, they simply don't know what the motive was.
