6-year-old boy witnessed killing of dad in road rage incident: 'I didn't know what was happening'

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A 6-year-old boy who witnessed his dad die in a road rage encounter said he didn't understand what was happening and thought the driver fired a confetti cannon at his father.

The shooting happened Saturday around 7:30 p.m. near Alief Coldine and Highway 6 in west Harris County.

READ MORE: Children watch as driver is shot during W. Harris Co. road rage incident

The shooting killed 49-year-old David Owens. Investigators said Owens and a driver in a black Ford Mustang got in a verbal altercation, which resulted in road rage.

Eyewitness News sat down with Owens' son, who is also named David, and the boy's mother, Beth Dean.

The boy is affectionately known as "Trouble."

He was in the vehicle when shots rang out and told ABC13 he, his father, his father's girlfriend and his cousin had just left a pool party.

The boy said the driver of the Mustang tried to hit their vehicle.

READ ALSO: TxDOT seeing 'a lot more aggressive driving' out on Houston roads

Houston police said there were eight road rage incidents that led to fatal shootings in Houston in 2020 compared to five in 2019.

"My dad started chasing him so then the guy shot him," said David. "I thought like one of those confetti things ... I thought he was shooting that at him. I was getting kind of scared. I didn't know what was happening at all."

The shooter, who took off and remains on the run, was described by deputies as a Hispanic man in his 20s.

Dean said her family is offering a $10,000 reward for information that will lead deputies to an arrest.

"This one moment has affected everybody's lives," said Dean. "There will be everything that happened before that day, and there will be everything that happened after that day."

Family said Owens wanted his son to one day attend college. Relatives started a GoFundMe hoping to make that possible.

Anyone with information about this shooting is urged to call Crime Stoppers 713-222-TIPS (8477) or the Harris County Sheriff's Office at 713-221-6000.

For more information on this case, follow ABC13 reporter Steve Campion on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.