Mom shoots stranger who broke into her car with her kids inside during Family Dollar run, HPD says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A mother who went on a quick run to a Family Dollar store on Houston's southside had an alarming moment when she returned to a stranger inside her car with her three children.

Houston Police Department officers responded to a shooting call at about 8:15 p.m. Thursday at the Family Dollar at 2714 Reed Road near Highway 288.

Police said it all started when a woman in her mid-30s was standing in the middle of the road blocking traffic.

Officials said a driver saw her, slowed down, and got their window busted by the woman blocking the road.

That driver reportedly made a U-turn and stopped at a local gas station across the street to call police.

In the meantime, police said the woman, identified as the instigator in this case, then went to the Family Dollar parking lot and climbed into another car that was parked in front of the store.

HPD said the owner of that vehicle was a mother making a quick run to the store. She left her three kids in the running car.

The mother came out to find the woman inside her car and confronted her to try to get her to leave, according to HPD.

When the woman refused to get out, the mother allegedly took out a pistol from her purse and shot her.

Police said that's when the fight ended, and the woman got out of the car and walked into the store to seek help.

The woman shot was taken to the hospital and is in custody. No one else was reportedly hurt in the shooting.

Authorities said the mother who fired her gun is cooperating with them as investigators are looking at surveillance video to see what exactly happened.