Uber driver shot by suspected car burglar who was being confronted outside SE Houston club, HPD says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- An Uber driver was hurt when he got caught in the crossfire of a shooting outside of a nightclub on Houston's southside.

The shooting happened just after 1:45 a.m. Thursday in the 8500 block of the I-45 Gulf Freeway near Monroe Road, according to Houston police.

When officers responded to the scene, they found one man with a gunshot wound.

ABC13 reporter Charly Edsitty spoke with a gas station attendant next door who called 911.

The attendant -- who didn't want to show his face -- said the shots were fired about 30 feet away from the gas station. He called police, and that's when he heard more shots.

According to investigators, the problems started when customers claimed they saw a man burglarizing cars in the parking lot of the nightclub.

HPD said some customers leaving the club confronted the suspect and tried to hold him down, but he got away.

As he was running off, police said he fired a few shots toward the crowd, kept running, and then fired again.

It was during the second round of gunfire that an Uber driver -- who had a passenger in the front seat -- was shot in his elbow and grazed in his chest.

The man was treated at the scene and is expected to be OK. The passenger was not hurt.

HPD said the shooter is still on the run.

Meanwhile, the gas station attendant said they've had problems with the crowd coming from the club before. He said one time, a fight involving about 20 people broke out.

"We have talked to the owner of the establishment. We have told them a number of times, 'Hey, bro, your customers are stopping our business. They're not letting business come inside. They're stopping everything completely from coming in,'" the attendant said. "'It's not fair that the owner of this location, this gas station, can't do revenue because you guys are stopping the money flow.'"

The gas station attendant said an off-duty police officer typically stops by the area nightly to check things out, but that officer didn't stop by on Wednesday night.

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