ATASCOCITA, Texas – In broad daylight, at a popular shopping center in Atascocita, a young man was shot to death Sunday while sitting in the driver’s seat of his car, officials said.
The incident was reported at 2:30 p.m. in a parking lot on FM 1960 near Timber Forest Drive.
The man's friends told KPRC2 the victim is Fabian Smith, 29, a man most people called "Lil Miss," because he is from Mississippi. They also said he used to work as a fryer operator at a fried chicken wing restaurant, but recently he had started hanging out with the wrong crowd.
"Fabian was a great person. He was there for anyone, He'd help anybody out," said Dillon O'Connor, who worked with Smith at the chicken restaurant.
Investigators said Smith was shot several times in the chest while sitting in the driver's seat of a silver Ford Taurus at the Lake Country Plaza Shopping Center. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
“At this point, we don’t know who this individual is and we are interviewing witnesses to ascertain as much information as we can,” said Sgt. Felipe Rivera, with the Harris County Sheriff’s Department.
Harris County Sheriff’s Department homicide detectives are on the lookout for a white man wearing a trench coat who was seen running away from the scene. Deputies said he fled in a silver-colored four-door sedan.
The suspect is described a white man, 5 feet and 10 inches tall, weighing 190 to 220 pounds. He has brown hair and a brown beard.
Anyone with information on this suspect is asked to call the Sheriff’s Department at 713-274-9100. Crime Stoppers is offering up to $5,000 for information leading to the man's arrest. Information can be reported at 713-222-8477.