Man drives himself to get help after being shot multiple times on South Loop near SH-288
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A man who was shot while driving on Houston's southside managed to drive himself to safety after he was struck multiple times.
The shooting happened on the South Loop near SH-288 around 2:30 a.m. Monday, Houston police said. After being shot, the driver managed to pull into a nearby gas station for help.
ABC13's Charly Edsitty spoke to gas station clerk Destyni Lee who helped the victim after he pulled up.
She said the victim was determined to stay alive. The entire interaction at the gas station was captured on security cameras.
You can see the moment the man, with multiple gunshot wounds, stumbled out of his car looking for help, in the video player above. Warning, some of the video is graphic.
"He really wanted help. You could tell he really wanted help," Lee recalled.
Video shows the bloody victim getting out of his car and walking towards the store. The doors were locked, but Lee realized something bad was happening.
"He did try to walk into the store, but a homeless guy had come banging on the door saying, 'Call 911. Call 911,'" Lee said.
According to HPD detectives, the victim was driving along the South Loop when another car pulled up beside him for an unknown reason and fired multiple shots before driving off.
The victim, seen leaning against his car in surveillance video, was hit several times, police said. Video from the scene shows the driver's vehicle with numerous bullet holes in the windshield and side windows.
"So when I had seen what was happening on the camera, I ran to the door. I was kind of scared to help because I didn't know if it had happened here or what happened," Lee recalled.
Surveillance video then shows Lee come out of the store to help the victim, who had just fallen to the ground.
He was conscious and told her to call his mom and his girlfriend, Lee said. Two other strangers also stepped up to help.
"And when he fell, I kind of moved him to his side and put pressure on his wounds, because he did get shot three times," Lee said.
Eventually, an ambulance showed up and EMS officials stepped in. Detectives say the victim is expected to survive.
Police say it is unknown why the shooting happened or if it was related to road rage.
"He was blessed to make it here. We were blessed to be here, and we were blessed to actually help him," Lee said.
RELATED: Man shot 5 times while driving on Eastex Freeway, driver killed in separate shooting
This is the third incident in five days where drivers were behind the wheel when they were shot on Houston roadways.
The other two incidents happened last Thursday, and one of them was deadly.
If you have any information about what happened early Monday morning on the South Loop, please contact HPD.
