Another active shooter in Texas strip mall

[Michelle]

Yep. And this isn't just any old strip mall in Houston. This is an extremely wealthy part of town.

Shooter is down and last radio comments said a bomb squad was checking out a suspicious vehicle. Homes in West University are in lockdown.

This neighborhood is west of Rice University and is one of the more affluent areas of town, after River Oaks and Memorial. Lots of doctors and such because on the eastern border of Rice University is the Texas Medical Center.

[josieposy]

This seems awfully early in the morning for a strip mall. Is it already open, or would it be people going to work at the medical center? I'm just trying to get a sense of how busy it was.

ETA: And I hope the victims are all going to be ok.

[Pom]

My H was on his way to work and texted me this about 7am. We are in north Houston, so our local news is posting any info they have. There was an interview with a couple and the H was headed to work and they heard shots. He continued in his car into the street and 2 shots came through his windshield. One almost hit near his head and one bullet struck near his headrest. A postal worker also reported being shot at on the same street. They are reporting the shooter is dead.

[Michelle]

Sept 26, 2016 8:28:24 GMT -5 josieposy said:

This seems awfully early in the morning for a strip mall. Is it already open, or would it be people going to work at the medical center? I'm just trying to get a sense of how busy it was.

ETA: And I hope the victims are all going to be ok.

The biggest bldg in the "strip mall" is a Randalls grocery store. Probably has a Starbucks. But one article said the man was firing at moving cars. This location is just south east of a major joining of freeways for highway 59 and the 610 loop. The NW corner of that area includes the galleria shopping district and a lot of small office buildings. The NE corner feeds into an area called greenway plaza (a lot of businesses and offices there too). A lot of people cut through this intersection to avoid freeway backups. But also the homeowners coming from West U would drive up Wesleyen to get to HWY 59 to get to downtown. Those who have to be at work by 8 would be driving through right then. Also SAHM's getting coffee after dropping kids off at school.

There is also a post office on the back side of that strip where people might drop off mail on their way into work. It is a well traveled intersection.

[josieposy]

Thanks Michelle for providing some additional context.

[Michelle]

Sept 26, 2016 8:39:43 GMT -5 josieposy said:

Thanks Michelle for providing some additional context.

I used to have a daily stop there... I don't know all intersections so well.

[Michelle]

Our (edit - Dallas Fort Worth) local news...

One reported the shooter was "naturalized."

It was supposed to read, "Neutralized."
www.wfaa.com/mb/news/local/live-video-hpd-reports-active-shooter-near-west-u/326171434

[greeneggs]

Sept 26, 2016 8:52:17 GMT -5 Michelle said:

Our local news...

One reported the shooter was "naturalized."

It was supposed to read, "Neutralized."

Never change, Texas.  Grrrr.

I just checked in with my sister and she's safe.  I knew she was too poor to live near here but I was scared that it was near her office or commute.  She's safe at work and had no idea it was going on until I texted her.  

[annieblah]

Sept 26, 2016 8:25:00 GMT -5 Michelle said:

Yep. And this isn't just any old strip mall in Houston. This is an extremely wealthy part of town.

Shooter is down and last radio comments said a bomb squad was checking out a suspicious vehicle. Homes in West University are in lockdown.

This neighborhood is west of Rice University and is one of the more affluent areas of town, after River Oaks and Memorial. Lots of doctors and such because on the eastern border of Rice University is the Texas Medical Center.

Why does where it is matter? As if bring rich exempts you or something?

Awful.

[Michelle]

Sept 26, 2016 9:06:47 GMT -5 annieblah said:

Sept 26, 2016 8:25:00 GMT -5 Michelle said:

Yep. And this isn't just any old strip mall in Houston. This is an extremely wealthy part of town.

Shooter is down and last radio comments said a bomb squad was checking out a suspicious vehicle. Homes in West University are in lockdown.

This neighborhood is west of Rice University and is one of the more affluent areas of town, after River Oaks and Memorial. Lots of doctors and such because on the eastern border of Rice University is the Texas Medical Center.

Why does where it is matter? As if bring rich exempts you or something?

Awful.

No, but it might contribute to the narrative as to The shooter's intent. It is not such a well-traveled area that a shooter is trying to maximize target opportunity, like within the Galleria area, or downtown, or the medical center. Only the grocery store would have been open at that time, or the post office box section of the post office, so it does not fit the regular picking of a shopping mall profile to maximize target opportunity either. I guess we shall see as more reports develop.

[mbcdefg]

AP says he was a lawyer who had an issue with his firm

[jmc325]

The area of the shooting is walking distance from me. I actually had plans to swing by the Petco in the shopping strip after work. When I left for work this morning right before 7AM, the entire road was blocked off by police and you could hear helicopters flying extremely low. From my understanding the shooter was aiming at random cars passing by. Witnesses say that they could see a red laser from the shooter's gun being aimed.

The car that the shooter was reportedly going back and forth to is registered to a lawyer. Local news is saying that his father reported that he was angry that his law firm had failed. Also, neighbors said that about a month ago the lawyer came outside with a gun in his hands, yelling and angry over some construction going on. Nine people have been injured, one person listed as critical and another as serious.

I cannot believe this happened so close to me. Absolutely terrifying.

[jln]

This is so scary. This is the opposite side of town from us, luckily.

[cville]

Sept 26, 2016 9:29:38 GMT -5 Michelle said:

Sept 26, 2016 9:06:47 GMT -5 annieblah said:

Why does where it is matter? As if bring rich exempts you or something?

Awful.

No, but it might contribute to the narrative as to The shooter's intent. It is not such a well-traveled area that a shooter is trying to maximize target opportunity, like within the Galleria area, or downtown, or the medical center. Only the grocery store would have been open at that time, or the post office box section of the post office, so it does not fit the regular picking of a shopping mall profile to maximize target opportunity either. I guess we shall see as more reports develop.

How is "wealthy" synonymous with "not open early in the morning"?

[bex]

Emphasizing how nice the neighborhood is seems to indicate surprise that these things happen in "nice" areas as well. And it seems to feed the narrative that when bad things happen in predominantly white/nice areas, then they are somehow more worthy of being discussed or condemned. I realize this is how society treats it, but we can try to do better here, in my opinion.

If this had been in a "bad" area, what would the first response to this post have been?

[NitaX]

I quit. I'm sick of this.

[mrsukyankee]

Sept 26, 2016 8:36:33 GMT -5 Pom said:

My H was on his way to work and texted me this about 7am. We are in north Houston, so our local news is posting any info they have. There was an interview with a couple and the H was headed to work and they heard shots. He continued in his car into the street and 2 shots came through his windshield. One almost hit near his head and one bullet struck near his headrest. A postal worker also reported being shot at on the same street. They are reporting the shooter is dead.

Wait.  Your H almost got shot in the head?

[noeliav]

Sept 26, 2016 11:04:30 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

Sept 26, 2016 8:36:33 GMT -5 Pom said:

My H was on his way to work and texted me this about 7am. We are in north Houston, so our local news is posting any info they have. There was an interview with a couple and the H was headed to work and they heard shots. He continued in his car into the street and 2 shots came through his windshield. One almost hit near his head and one bullet struck near his headrest. A postal worker also reported being shot at on the same street. They are reporting the shooter is dead.

Wait.  Your H almost got shot in the head?

The couple interviewed-- the H in that couple was almost shot in the head.

[WOT?*]

OMG Pom Your husband is okay?? Or was it the H of the couple they were interviewing? Either way, it's terrifying.
jmc325 - the Burlington one hit home for me, as I spent much time there and even lived and worked in the town when my DS1 was a baby. It was a "home" for us. So I am sending many hugs to you, to Pom, michelle , greeneggs (so glad your sister is okay) and to all the Houston ladies and families who are affected right now.


(ETA: because I'm an idiot with brain/finger disconnect this morning and typed the wrong darn "B"-town. Bellingham is about 45 minutes north of Burlington.)

[mrsukyankee]

Sept 26, 2016 11:15:51 GMT -5 noeliav said:

Sept 26, 2016 11:04:30 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

Wait.  Your H almost got shot in the head?

The couple interviewed-- the H in that couple was almost shot in the head.

OK.  It was confusing the way I read it.

[Pom]

Sept 26, 2016 11:04:30 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

Sept 26, 2016 8:36:33 GMT -5 Pom said:

My H was on his way to work and texted me this about 7am. We are in north Houston, so our local news is posting any info they have. There was an interview with a couple and the H was headed to work and they heard shots. He continued in his car into the street and 2 shots came through his windshield. One almost hit near his head and one bullet struck near his headrest. A postal worker also reported being shot at on the same street. They are reporting the shooter is dead.

Wait.  Your H almost got shot in the head?

Sorry this wasn't clear, but no Mr. P is fine and at work.  This was the H of the couple interviewed.  Scary shit.

[noeliav]

Sept 26, 2016 11:21:49 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

Sept 26, 2016 11:15:51 GMT -5 noeliav said:

The couple interviewed-- the H in that couple was almost shot in the head.

OK.  It was confusing the way I read it.

It took me a couple reads too

[abs]

I used to live in that area and went to that Randall's all the time. Hits close to home.

I am so ready for some better gun control. But no. The second amendment is more important than people's lives.

[ellipses84]

This is terrifying. I heard it on the radio on my way to work. It wasn't until the third report where they said he was shooting at motorists. My commute passes through that area, so I re-routed and ended up driving right past the end of the police barricade. They had got him by then.

My coworker lives extremely close to it all. Luckily their routine was different than normal today and they were safely inside their apartment and not headed to work like they normally would have been.

[smock]

Sept 26, 2016 11:18:01 GMT -5 WOT?* said:

jmc325 - the Bellingham one hit home for me, as I spent much time there and even lived and worked in the town when my DS1 was a baby. It was a "home" for us. So I am sending many hugs to you, to Pom, michelle , greeneggs (so glad your sister is okay) and to all the Houston ladies and families who are affected right now.

Just FYI, the shooting in WA was in Burlington, not Bellingham. I've seen a few people swap the two. Of course, that doesn't detract from your point, because these shootings can and do happen anywhere.

[WOT?*]

Sept 26, 2016 12:24:52 GMT -5 smock said:

Sept 26, 2016 11:18:01 GMT -5 WOT?* said:

jmc325 - the Bellingham one hit home for me, as I spent much time there and even lived and worked in the town when my DS1 was a baby. It was a "home" for us. So I am sending many hugs to you, to Pom, michelle , greeneggs (so glad your sister is okay) and to all the Houston ladies and families who are affected right now.

Just FYI, the shooting in WA was in Burlington, not Bellingham. I've seen a few people swap the two. Of course, that doesn't detract from your point, because these shootings can and do happen anywhere.

I don't know why I typed Bellingham. I can't believe I did that. Must have been in brain-fart mode.
I lived in Burlington and am very familiar with the mall and the area; I've only been to Bellingham a couple of times (although GD1 was born there so there's that) so I have no idea where my brain/finger disconnect came from. The shooter was captured in my old hometown, where my kids grew up and where my XH still lives. I wouldn't be surprised if my kids had friends or acquaintances in common with him but so far I'm glad to report that they don't. My kids know all the cops in that town and my XH and his wife are very involved in the community so I'm glad he was taken safely and nobody else was harmed.

ETA: As always, I appreciate the correction because I hate making stupid mistakes (which I do often) and can't fix them if they're not pointed out.

[Michelle]

Sept 26, 2016 11:02:12 GMT -5 bex said:

Emphasizing how nice the neighborhood is seems to indicate surprise that these things happen in "nice" areas as well. And it seems to feed the narrative that when bad things happen in predominantly white/nice areas, then they are somehow more worthy of being discussed or condemned. I realize this is how society treats it, but we can try to do better here, in my opinion.

If this had been in a "bad" area, what would the first response to this post have been?

I think of "strip malls" as being in middle class suburban neighborhoods and off of the major freeways (on the frontage/feeder roads). I don't actually think of "bad" neighborhoods when I hear that term.

And for timing for something like this I think about the weekend or afternoons/evenings when most people are coming in/out. Which to me means totally random and just aiming to shoot as many people as possible.



When I think 7 a.m., in an affluent part of town, in a strip mall that is embedded in a neighborhood and not right off the freeway, which at that time of morning is really a grocery store/starbucks on one end and a post office on the very far end in the back (and a petco on the post office side), I think it is more targeted, less random, because the volume of people is much lower.

That was my mindset when I first posted. 





Then as reports kept rolling out I heard reports about the person shooting at moving vehicles I started thinking about how that is an intersection where people try to get around the freeway interchanges and associated backups and if you want to hit random motorists you have a decent volume of traffic there.

[Deleted]

Sept 26, 2016 13:25:23 GMT -5 Michelle said:

Sept 26, 2016 11:02:12 GMT -5 bex said:

Emphasizing how nice the neighborhood is seems to indicate surprise that these things happen in "nice" areas as well. And it seems to feed the narrative that when bad things happen in predominantly white/nice areas, then they are somehow more worthy of being discussed or condemned. I realize this is how society treats it, but we can try to do better here, in my opinion.

If this had been in a "bad" area, what would the first response to this post have been?

I think of "strip malls" as being in middle class suburban neighborhoods and off of the major freeways (on the frontage/feeder roads). I don't actually think of "bad" neighborhoods when I hear that term.

And for timing for something like this I think about the weekend or afternoons/evenings when most people are coming in/out. Which to me means totally random and just aiming to shoot as many people as possible.



When I think 7 a.m., in an affluent part of town, in a strip mall that is embedded in a neighborhood and not right off the freeway, which at that time of morning is really a grocery store/starbucks on one end and a post office on the very far end in the back (and a petco on the post office side), I think it is more targeted, less random, because the volume of people is much lower.

That was my mindset when I first posted. 

Then as reports kept rolling out I heard reports about the person shooting at moving vehicles I started thinking about how that is an intersection where people try to get around the freeway interchanges and associated backups and if you want to hit random motorists you have a decent volume of traffic there.

You know that literally none of this is what your first reply conveyed, right?

Yep. And this isn't just any old strip mall in Houston. This is an extremely wealthy part of town.

....
This neighborhood is west of Rice University and is one of the more affluent areas of town, after River Oaks and Memorial. Lots of doctors and such because on the eastern border of Rice University is the Texas Medical Center.

Literally nothing about this ^^^ tells me how many people would there or whether it would be targeted vs. random.

[mbcdefg]

Apparently the shooter had Nazi materials in his car: abc13.com/news/video-houston-police-take-down-shooting-rampage-suspect/1526685/

[Michelle]

Sept 26, 2016 18:23:13 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

Apparently the shooter had Nazi materials in his car: abc13.com/news/video-houston-police-take-down-shooting-rampage-suspect/1526685/

Mixed media comments on this.

Desai is a name of Indian origin. Did the materials contain a nazi swastika or the wheel of Vishnu the Hindu god?

To see someone named Desai with nazi propaganda causes me cognitive dissonance.