At about 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, 23-year-old Jeffery Samuels II fired 40 rounds onto a white Mercedes SUV at a Circle K gas station located at Veterans Memorial Drive and Spears Road near Willowbrook Mall.
The video above is from a previous report: Man charged with aggravated assault for shooting own family at gas station in NW Harris County
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Tony Cotton was inside the car with his wife, Alberta Cotton, who was in the passenger seat and was reportedly hit at least three times by the bullets.
Family members told ABC13 that Alberta is a cousin of the accused shooter, who it appears did not know his own family was in the car.
The confusion all began earlier that day when extended family members gathered to mourn the death of an aunt.
Tony Cotton told ABC13 by phone that he and his wife were driving their white SUV and asked if they could follow the suspect's father, Jeffrey Samuels Sr., to the next family member's home, where they planned to continue grieving and offer condolences.
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As they began driving, Samuels Sr. allegedly told investigators he was confused after seeing a car he didn't recognize follow him.
That's when Samuels Sr. called 911 to report the suspicious vehicle and also called his son to share his suspicions.
SEE ALSO: 18-year-old accidentally shoots sister to death in north Houston, police say
Investigators said Jeffery Samuels II met his parents at the Circle K gas station and waited to see if the white SUV would follow them in, and it did.
Police said Jeffery Samuels II then opened fire just as Tony Cotton opened his driver's side door.
Jeffery Samuels II, who has no previous criminal history in Harris County, is charged with two counts of aggravated assault.
Tony Cotton said he is still waiting for Samuels Sr. to clarify how he became confused. He said they are still pressing charges against their younger cousin because "family or not, what he did was wrong."
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