Woman shot in back and mouth after 2 masked men open fire outside NE Houston home

Shannon Ryan Image
Sunday, May 14, 2023
Masked men fire 62 bullets into family's NE Houston home, injuring 1
The family had recently relocated to the area following the Harris County floodplain buyout program and tells ABC13 they're not sure who is after them or if they would come back.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A 22-year-old woman was hospitalized after her family home was riddled with bullets in early May in northeast Houston.

The video above is from ABC13's Live Streaming Channel.

The shooting happened May 2 in East Little York near Mount Houston and Homestead Road.

Surveillance video captured two masked men approaching the home around 7:19 p.m. and opening fire.

Homeowner Pablo Silva showed ABC13 how bullets tore through everything - the living room, kitchen, bedroom, even making it to the backyard. He said the family found 62 shells in total.

He was home with his wife, 10-year-old son, and daughters - ages 19 and 22, at the time of the shooting.

His 22-year-old daughter, Leticia Silva, was shot twice in the back and once in the mouth while sitting with her sister in the living room watching TikTok videos.

"Doctors can't believe how strong she is," he told ABC13 in Spanish.

Silva is expected to stay at the hospital for several weeks and is slated to undergo another surgery on her teeth on Sunday.

"(My dad) put a pillow on her head, and he was talking to (my sister.) Telling her not to sleep and talk to him because he didn't want her to leave," Anita Silva said.

The family tells ABC13 they do not want to bring her home once Leticia is released.

"If I couldn't handle it, I feel like she wouldn't," Anita Silva explained. She says she can no longer sit in her living room." I see that couch where my sister was, and I just remember everything again," she added.

The family told ABC13 they have no idea who would want to harm them or if they are coming back.

"I would tell them 'Why?' My question is 'Why?,'" Anita said. "We don't owe anybody anything."

The Silvas told ABC13 they were perplexed by the attack. They mainly keep to themselves and know few people in East Little York.

Their only child with community connections is still in grade school.

Now, he is afraid to go back. They just relocated to the neighborhood through a Harris County floodplain buyout program. As a condition of the program, they can only sell their home in August - effectively trapping them in the house.

They are trying to raise money to move into an apartment in the interim and cover damages from the attack.

Despite the hardship, Pablo Silva tells ABC13 his faith remains strong. He explained he was not sure how the family would have survived otherwise. They ask anyone with information to contact Houston police.

"I wouldn't wish this on anyone, no matter what," Pablo said.

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