Smoke shop murder: Family mourns loss of devoted father

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Family and friends of Michael Phelan are looking for closure after a merciless shooting. They gathered at Phelan's house Saturday to mourn their loss.

"He was my big brother, and I looked up to him...I want justice," said Roxanne Carranza, Phelan's little sister.

Police said Phelan was shot several times in his store, 45 Smoke Shop, in North Houston around 10 p.m. on Friday night.

Surveillance video shows three men in hoodies and jackets walking into the shop with long guns and handguns before they target Phelan off-camera.

Police said they then fled in a dark-colored vehicle.

"My son didn't deserve to die like this," said Rosemary Phelan, Michael's mother.

Police believe this was not a robbery, since nothing was taken from the cash register nor the store.

Phelan leaves behind three little daughters and a wife, Claudia Phelan, who begged the public to take a close look at the surveillance video.

"Ask around. If you don't even know who they are, just...share it," said Claudia Phelan.

" I just plead with anybody who has any information to please come forward to bring these men to justice," said Rosemary Phelan.

The Phelans said Michael was the backbone of the family and an entrepreneur with big ideas who loved his family back. They said he in addition to running his smoke shop, he had also been working on launching a food truck.

"He was so proud, such a devoted, dedicated father. His girls meant the world to him," said Rosemary.

"He would talk to anybody that he didn't even know, and he'd give the shirt off his back," said Mark Phelan, Michael's little brother.

The abrupt loss is made more heart-rending because Claudia is due in about two weeks with a baby girl who will come into the world without her father.

"We want justice," said Roxanne. "He has daughters, his babies. They're now fatherless."

"I just love daddy, and I never want him to leave," said Phelan's 4 year-old daughter.

If you have any information about this crime, call the Houston HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.