Yellow Cab driver shot outside Kroger in Montrose
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Yellow Cab driver is in critical condition after he was shot while sitting in his cab in a Kroger parking lot in Montrose.
It happened in the 3000 block of Montrose Boulevard near Westheimer shortly after 1 p.m. Monday.
Houston police believe the driver, identified by Yellow Cab as Michael Ubani, was working when he was shot several times. The driver was rushed to Ben Taub Hospital.
A jarring sight unraveled in the Kroger parking lot. A bullet hole could be seen through the driver's side window of the cab. The driver's loafers and bloody clothes were found on the ground.
Houston police said the shooter walked up to the cab, fired several rounds and then took off, leaving the victim slumped over and wounded.
"I heard bam, bam, bam, and saw a whole bunch of kids run away from there," Johnson Huang said.
Huang had just walked out the back door of his restaurant. He could see the injured driver and those who hang out at this corner in Montrose scatter. Eric Connerly was one of them.
He went from defending himself from the back of a patrol car as a person of interest to being released.
"I heard it," Connerly said. "I was sitting right here, I heard gunshots, I ran, wrong place wrong time, didn't want to be the next victim."
HPD now considers him and his two friends who were also detained as witnesses.
Those familiar with the driver say he often sat in the parking lot waiting for fares, and were shocked to learn he had been targeted.
In a statement to ABC13 Eyewitness News, Yellow Cab said their family is deeply saddened, and their thoughts are with the driver and his family. They are working with police to assist them with their investigation.
Police say there was a camera inside the cab. Another camera on top of Kroger also captured the shooting. Police say they have leads on the shooter and the gun.
Yellow Cab president Michael Spears released this statement to ABC13 Eyewitness News Monday:
"The Yellow Cab family is deeply saddened by the senseless shooting that occurred this afternoon. We are sending uplifting thoughts to Michael Ubani and his family during this very difficult time. We have just learned that his family members are at Ben Taub Hospital and will be near him while he undergoes surgery. We are all praying for a speedy recovery for Michael!"
