Chron – by Anita HassanTwo people were killed and at least 22 others wounded late Saturday when gunfire erupted at a house party in the Cypress area, authorities said.
Partygoers scrambled after the shooting broke out about 11 p.m. in the 7300 block of Enchanted Creek Drive, near Fry and FM 529.
Officials with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office are looking for two people who are suspected of being the gunmen.
More than 100 people, mostly young adults, were at a house celebrating a birthday, officials with the sheriff’s office said.
A man and a woman were killed, according to a news release sent by the office. One died at the party and the other at Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center Hospital.
One of the wounded included a female, who was sent by Lifeflight helicopter ambulance to Memorial Hermann Hospital.
The others shot have injuries ranging from serious to non-life threatening, said Thomas Gilliland, spokesman with the Sheriff’s Office. Some were shot in the foot or ankle. Others were shot in the hip, he said. Most of the injured were from 17 to 20 and were taken to five area hospitals.
Three others not shot, but hurt in the incident, also have gone to a hospital, Gilliland said. They reported injuries such as twisted ankles.
After the shooting, people were making a mad rush to get out of the house, he said. Witnesses told deputies that some people broke second-floor windows and jumped.
So many people were trying to get out of garage, they forced it forward and pushed it off its tracks, he said.
When deputies arrived, they saw some people lying on the ground and others running, the spokesman said.
“It was a pretty chaotic scene,” Gilliland said.
Hours after the shooting, A. Henry described how the celebration turned into terror.
He was in the house, toward the kitchen when he heard the first shots.
“It sounded like a balloon popping,” said the 19-year-old Cypress Springs graduate.
Partygoers suddenly got quiet, he said, then the gunfire returned.
Henry said he thinks he heard between 10 and 12 shots fired, but was uncertain because the situation was hectic. The shooting seems to last between three to five minutes, he said.
At one point, he was trying to move people toward the garage to help them and himself out. He saw two people on the floor, bleeding.
Uncertainty crossed his mind.
“I hope I make it out alive,” he recalled thinking.
Karen Briones was visiting relatives in the neighborhood when they heard the shooting, she said.
She saw the party earlier Saturday when on her way to a convenience store. After Briones returned to her relatives’ home, on the other side of the neighborhood of one- and two-story brick and panel homes, they heard gunfire. She and a few relatives drove back down the street to investigate, she said.
“Girls were crying and screaming, banging on people’s doors asking them for help and to call 911,” Briones said.
The party was advertised on Twitter as an 18th birthday celebration.
At least one parent was in the house, said Christina Garza, a spokeswoman with the sheriff’s office.
Investigators are trying to determine if alcohol was served at the party, Gilliland said.
The homeowners were not at the party, he said, but some of the people who live there were.
A Cypress Springs High School student who lives in the neighborhood said she heard about the party at school, but did not go to it.
Investigators are trying to determine what prompted the shooting.
Communicate plans for your activities in person and have it passed on the same way. Nothing is private anymore and this kind of thing would be very easy to accomplish since the governmental agencies are spying on telephones, emails, Facebook etc. Right now person to person is the best and only safe way.
Cypress-Fairbanks looks like a nice neighborhood when driving through it, but it has had a huge teen and young adult gang problem for years, plus rivalry with Katy, the suburb to its southwest, and there is at least one very violent clash every year.
Most articles begin by identifying the area and state. Ya … it’s in the URL, but state location should also be identified in the story especially now that journalism has hit the internet.
Not until I did some research did I finally find out this happened in the state of Texas. What has happened to the ethics of journalism anyway?
. . .
Same here, Cathleen, since my youngest brother lives in Cypress, CA.
This is one more reason I don’t go to parties anymore.
Yep me too #1, no big parties for me for over 10 yr.s . Too many theives and turn coats now days at house parties.
Parties have a nasty habit of attracting too many cops at times, too.