3 teens shot in midst of large crowd in southwest Houston, police say

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- An investigation is underway after three teens were shot when gunfire broke out in southwest Houston Saturday night.

At about 11:20 p.m., officers with the Houston Police Department responded to a disturbance with a weapon at 13100 South Post Oak.

When officers arrived, they said they encountered a chaotic situation with about 300 people running in all directions.

Investigators found three teenagers who were shot outside Original Vanity, an event venue.

The owner of Taylor's, a different venue nearby, told Eyewitness News that at least one of the victims ran across the street to his event venue's parking lot and collapsed.

The victims were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Rossow said it doesn't appear that this was a drive-by shooting.

"We didn't see any vehicles speeding off. From my understanding, there were a bunch of juveniles here. So I don't think there were a lot of vehicles involved. It wasn't a drive-by because everybody started scattering when the shots started ringing off," he said.

Investigators said witnesses have not come forward at this time, and they have not identified any suspects yet.

The owners of a nearby business sent ABC13 this statement:

"We want our patrons to know the shooting that occurred on Saturday night did not involve patrons of Taylor's of Houston, nor did the shooting happen at Taylor's of Houston. Taylor's of Houston is a family-owned business has been a part of this community for over two decades. We cater to corporate and family functions, including birthdays, weddings, and reunions, and we serve as a concert venue.

On Saturday evening, our security team noted a large gathering of youth at the building directly across the street from Taylor's. Taylor's security witnessed two or more party buses, filled with teenagers, arriving and dropping them off. It didn't appear that they were able to get inside as the crowd grew, our security team began to notice that the crowd was spilling into the street and on our property. Security then called HPD.

A group of teens fled, running for safety to Taylor's parking lot, when gunfire rang across the street. When HPD arrived, they set up command in Taylor's parking lot, and our staff and security cooperated with HPD during the investigation. We are making this statement because we have seen that some media outlets have confused the facts of the story, leading to a negative media impact on our family-run business. We pray for the youth that was involved in their speedy recovery, and we hope that these types of events are properly planned and that the appropriate safety measures are taken."

If you have any information, you are asked to contact the Houston Police Department's Major Assaults Unit at (713) 308-8800 or Crime Stoppers at (713) 222-TIPS.