Woman caught in crossfire fatally shot as she drove down street in Third Ward, HPD says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston police say a woman is dead after she was caught in the crossfire of a shooting as she drove down the street Wednesday evening.

The woman died due to a shooting, which police believe she had nothing to do with. It all happened near Scott Street and I-45 at about 7 p.m. Wednesday.

When police arrived on the scene, they said they found a dark-colored car on the freeway feeder road that had several bullet holes in it, and a lot of shell casings on the street.

Houston police believe the woman inside the vehicle was just driving by as she was hit. Her car crashed into a house at the corner of Milby and Dennis Streets in the Third Ward. She was taken to the hospital where she died.

"I had heard a gunshot, several gunshots right before it happened," said Edward Watson, who lives across the street from the crash, "I thought it was gunshots for somebody else."

During that time, HPD said they also got information that a man was taken in a private car to the hospital with gunshot wounds. He is expected to survive. They are still working to figure out his involvement.

Police believe people were shooting at each other and that is when the woman was hit by mistake.

"The information we have right now is that the dark sedan and a male on foot exchanged gunfire, it appears with rifles," explained Lt. Larry Crowson with HPD. "During that exchange of gunfire, the victim in a car drove by. Apparently, she was an unintended target, struck by the stray gunfire."

"I was at work for 15 minutes, and then I got a call so I just came back home," said Joshua Hurd, who lives in the house where the woman hit. "It's sad man."

Hurd boarded up the side of the house as best as he could hours after the crash.

A neighbor's Nest doorbell camera captured the audio of the gunshots, an 18-second gap, and then the car crash. The video will be among a number of pieces of evidence investigators will use to piece together what happened,

The investigation is ongoing, with plenty of questions remaining.

Linda Jones, a longtime Third Ward resident said, unfortunately, she is not surprised this happened here.

"It's just awful. People can't drive and go where (they) have to go without having to encounter things like that. Because I hate to say it, they have little gangs that come around. They come on this street. This street is a haven for them. During the summer, they'll come over here," said Jones.

If you have any information about what happened, you are asked to call HPD Homicide at 713-308-3600.