ONLY ON 13: Shotgun pellets still lodged in woman's head following incident outside club
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A woman still has pellets from a shotgun shell lodged in her forehead after an incident outside an after-hours club in north Houston over the weekend.
Paige Bartlett, 20, said she was standing outside La Mona on West Parker near the North Freeway Sunday at about 3:30 a.m. in a line to get inside.
Bartlett said several security guards were standing outside, and one had a shotgun.
"It doesn't make sense to me. A security guard is carrying a shotgun," Bartlett said.
She said she overheard someone nearby ask him if it was real.
"'It's just pellets,' and went, 'Boom,'" Bartlett recalled him saying. "He was just trying to show off in front of everybody, and it backfired."
The pellets ricocheted off the sidewalk and struck her in the leg and forehead. Houston police said another person was also injured.
Bartlett said she did not know the extent of the injury to her head immediately, but she had blood dripping off of it.
"I'm screaming because I didn't know if I was dying at that point," she recalled while crying. "It just happened so fast."
When Houston police arrived, they said the security guard in question was already gone.
ORIGINAL REPORT: Security guard flees when shotgun accidentally fires, injuring 2 women outside N. Houston club: HPD
During an interview the morning of the shooting, police said that there was not an incident that required the guard to fire the weapon.
"The least you can do is make sure people are being safe, and other people don't have guns, and you all are playing with guns," Bartlett said.
On Monday afternoon, Houston police said they had not yet identified the security guard. By noon on Tuesday, a spokesperson said the security guard had identified himself and given a voluntary statement.
The unidentified security guard told police he dropped the gun, and it hit the ground and fired. He said it was unintentional.
"It's being said that it was an accident, and it was not an accident," Bartlett said. "He could have killed people. People could have been killed."
HPD said it is unclear if the guard in question is a licensed security guard but added he is employed by a security company and the other guards who remained on scene Sunday morning were licensed.
Charges have not been filed against the security guard. HPD said the district attorney's office referred the case for further investigation.
On June 22, three people were shot in the parking lot of the club at about 5 a.m., according to Houston police.
Last year, the City of Houston enacted an ordinance that required after-hours clubs to get a permit from the city and follow regulations.
The City of Houston confirmed that La Mona does not have a permit.
HPD said they are able to ticket establishments for violating the ordinance, but that will typically be a part of a follow-up investigation.
ABC13 has not been able to identify and reach the owner of the after-hours club for comment.
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