Four shot, 2 injured at Houston Caribbean Festival

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Four men were shot and two women injured after police said someone opened fire into a crowd of people at Houston Caribbean Festival party.

The Jouvert Party was advertised as a paint and water party. About 5,000 people were in attendance at a venue located on Lew Briggs Road and Almeda Genoa in southeast Houston.

Saturday evening, a Houston Police spokesperson told eyewitness news one of the three men who were shot is not expected to survive. Police said the man was shot in the head. The other three men suffered gunshot wounds to the neck and upper body. They are expected to survive.

"Everyone was having fun, getting it turned up," said party goer Vivian Nguyen.

Nguyen was recording and then heard gunshots. The dancing quickly turned to running.

"I was a little terrified as you can tell," said Nguyen.

"It was just a frenzy. Everyone was rushing out. We just came out here to have a good time. And it was just ruined," said Dwayne Jones.

Another video posted on Instagram showed the chaos following the shooting.

Police said two women were injured while trying to run out of the venue after hearing the gunshots. They suffered minor injuries.

"It was very scary," said Stephanie Burkhalter. "My heart was racing. And I just wanted to get out of there. People were being trampled over, running back and forth. It was terrible."

A Houston Caribbean Festival organizer issued a statement on the festivals website. It reads:

"On behalf of the Houston Caribbean Festival our condolences go out to all of the families that were affected by the tragedy that occurred at the Friday night Jouvert event. The mission of the Houston Caribbean Festival is to promote and preserve our diverse Caribbean culture to our fellow Houstonians and the world.

We would like the public to know that the Houston Caribbean Festival's first priority in planning any event is the safety of our supporters. We would like to thank all our supporters for the kind and encouraging expressions via social media and through all other forms of communication.

The Houston Caribbean Festival will work with the proper authorities to ensure that all measures are reviewed which will allow us to continue to celebrate our cultured diversity through a festive environment.

The Houston Caribbean Festival once again would like to thank our supporters and acknowledge that without your support we would not exist."

Police said they don't have a good description of the shooter. He is still at large. Police said if you have any information contact the Houston Police Department.