Mom fatally shot while driving with her 3-year-old child in the back, Texas cops say

A mother was fatally shot while driving with two passengers in Texas, authorities said. One was her 3-year-old boy.

When Houston Police Department officers arrived at about 2:45 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, they found a vehicle crashed on the side of the road, Assistant Chief Jessica Anderson said during a recorded news conference.

Inside the vehicle, officers found a female driver — about 20 to 30 years old — dead with a gunshot wound, Anderson said. An adult man was found with multiple gunshot wounds, and the toddler was uninjured in the backseat.

It’s unclear if the man, who was taken to a hospital for surgery, had a relation to the child, police said. During the news conference, they did not provide the names of any of the people inside the vehicle.

Witnesses on the scene reported seeing two vehicles traveling “very fast” before shots were fired from one of the vehicles, Anderson said. Police believe the shots were fired through the passenger side of the victims’ car.

A white vehicle then continued on, before eventually blowing out a tire while turning, according to police.

Another unit responded and found the white vehicle with two passengers trying to change the tire, Anderson said. They were then detained for questioning.

The 3-year-old boy was given to his grandmother, police said.

“It’s really tragic and scary for that young child,” Anderson said. “My thoughts and prayers are with him. I can’t imagine the trauma that he’s feeling and the shock.”

An investigation into the shooting is ongoing. Police said they found paint transfer on the two vehicles, so the drivers may have collided at some point during the altercation.

Anyone with additional information is asked to call the homicide division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477.

This story was originally published September 7, 2023 at 12:08 PM with the headline "Mom fatally shot while driving with her 3-year-old child in the back, Texas cops say."