A teenager was shot in the neck between 11 a.m. and noon Tuesday at a Third Ward bus stop near Texas Southern University.
The Houston Chronicle reported that three teenagers displaying a handgun approached a 19-year-old TSU student at a Metro bus stop near the Tierwester and Cleburne Street intersection. The TSU student took the gun from the teenagers, two of which attend Yates High School, police said.
At some point during the altercation, one of the Yates High students was struck in the neck.
‘According to (the TSU student), he just got out of class and he’s texting, so he’s not really paying attention until they come up on him and start demanding – whether it was money, a cell phone or drugs,’ Sgt. Will Gonzales told the Chronicle.
According to multiple reports, detectives determined that the TSU student was carrying a small amount of marijuana in his bag when the altercation occurred. Police have not decided whether to charge him for possession of marijuana.
The injured teenager remains in Ben Taub hospital. The Daily Cougar was unable to acquire information on his condition.
The Chronicle reported that investigators were not sure whether the Yates High student was intentionally shot. Gonzales told the Chronicle that the Houston Police Department took the other two suspects into custody.
After the incident, English senior Jonathan Shafer said Cleburne Street was blocked by emergency personnel. Schafer also heard police helicopters overhead while driving to his job at UH between 11 a.m. and noon.
‘I knew something was going on. I didn’t know what it was,’ Shafer said, adding that initial details about the incident were unclear.
UH Police Chief Malcolm Davis advised students to exercise caution and be aware of their surroundings when they are in public.
‘There is not much anyone waiting at a bus stop can do to keep someone from walking up and robbing them,’ David said through e-mail correspondence. ‘There is no dress code for criminals, and everyone you do not personally know (could be) a criminal.’
Davis also said students who are confronted by robbers should not aggravate the situation by resisting.
‘A lost life cannot be replaced,’ Davis said. ‘If a person with a gun tells you to give him or her something in your possession, don’t do anything to make the situation worse. Give them the property, and get a good look at your attacker so that you can give a complete description of your attacker to the police.’
Davis declined to comment on the incident, saying that UHPD does not make statements about other law enforcement agencies’ investigations.
Some UH students live in or near the Third Ward, in campus housing or off-campus in apartments or houses. Shafer, a Third Ward resident, said the incident will not force him to relocate.
‘I’ve never heard shots fired. I’ve never been fired at,’ Shafer said. ‘No one has messed with me. I’m not going to leave because of this.’
