Dad shot in the leg while driving with his wife and two young boys, Texas police say

A father was driving with his wife and two young boys when someone began shooting at the family’s SUV, authorities in Texas said.

Officers with the Houston Police Department were called to the shooting in southeast Houston at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, according to a news conference recorded by KHOU.

The arriving officers found a 28-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his left leg, Lt. Ignacio Izaguirre said during the recorded news conference. He was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive.

“Thank God that the kids were not injured,” Izaguirre said in the news conference. “There were several rounds that entered in the back passenger seat. So the mom and the two kids are OK.”

Authorities said the dad was driving southbound in a white Cadillac SUV with his wife and two children, ages 4 and 9, when someone in what appeared to be a white Camaro began shooting at the SUV.

The man continued driving south before making an “abrupt turn” westbound into a construction zone, police said.

He then crashed into a ditch, KTRK reported.

Police said the other driver fled the area.

An investigation into the shooting is ongoing. Police are unsure if road rage prompted the shooting.

The man who was shot said he didn’t know the shooters, according to police.

This story was originally published October 9, 2023 at 9:43 AM with the headline "Dad shot in the leg while driving with his wife and two young boys, Texas police say."