road rage

Eye contact at stoplight leads to man being shot on North Fwy, HPD says

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Eye contact at stoplight leads to man shot on North Fwy

Police say the victim's wife was looking at the suspect's vehicle at the light just before the frightening ordeal unfolded.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A driver who was in his truck with his wife and their friend was shot in the leg while trying to get away from a gunman in north Houston, according to investigators.

Houston Police Department said officers responded to a report of a shooting in the 12300 block of North Freeway near Greens Road at about 10:45 a.m. Monday. Police taped off a portion of a Best Buy parking lot, where a pickup truck was riddled with bullet holes and had damage to the driver's side.

HPD Sgt. Hector Pizana said the shooting stemmed from a confrontation at a red light at West Greens and Greens Parkway. A woman in the truck glanced over at another vehicle that was stopped at the light and was revving its engine.

"She made eye contact with the other driver and that's all it took," Pizana said.

Pizana said the victims were trying to get away when they were fired upon by both the driver and the passenger. One had a shotgun and the other had a handgun. The passenger was wearing a ski mask.

HPD reported a steep increase in road rage shootings last year. Through October, there was a 30% increase compared to the same time in 2019. Six shootings were deadly.

"We're riding around with stuff already on our plate, so it doesn't take much to set us off or to trigger us," explained Sgt. Richard Standifer with the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Standifer advises drivers to drive to a public place if they are being followed and to de-escalate any contentious situation by just letting it go.

"Some of them are going to cut you off. Some of them are going to jam on the brakes and let you know how slow you're going, and at that point, you're going to have to be the bigger person," Standifer said. "If you don't, theres a high probability we'll end up with a situation that includes gunfire."

On Monday, the 31-year-old victim was taken to the hospital where he is stable. HPD said the suspect vehicle was a dark blue Chevy Silverado cab-and-a-half pickup with paper plates that had the numbers "822."

There were no other injuries reported.

Police urged anyone with information on the case to contact the HPD Major Assaults & Family Violence Division at 713-308-8800 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.