Victims, witnesses recount mass shooting chaos

HOUSTON – Witnesses have helped piece together a shooting that injured nine people Monday morning in southwest Houston.

Ceily Reid told KPRC2 that she was among the first to call 911 when she began hearing gunshots near Weslayan and Bissonnet streets just after 6 a.m.

VIDEO: Witness recounts hearing dozens of gunshots

Reid said that by the time police arrived at the scene the gunman had been shooting for about 15 minutes. She said she heard at least 30 gunshots.

Joshua Olson recorded video from his apartment.

"The (officer) was lying prone with an assault rifle, shooting at the suspect," Olson said.

Eduardo Andretti said he was driving to the gym when he felt an explosion in his car.

VIDEO: Man talks about car being shot up

“You could smell the powder and the hot air from the bullets flying by,” Andretti said.

Andretti’s passenger side window was shattered and his windshield had at least one bullet hole in it.

Jennifer Molleda said she heard a couple of gunshots about 6:12 a.m. She called police to report it, and her husband left to go to work.

VIDEO: Woman talks about shooting that injured husband

A short time later, she heard more shots and she called her husband to check on him.

“All he kept doing was screaming and crying, ‘I’m hit! I’m hit!’” Wakim said.

PHOTOS: Mass shooting scene

Wakim said her husband, whose eyes were full of glass because the shots shattered his windows, was able to make it to firefighters who helped him.

Skip Cornelius' son was one of the victims. He was shot in the arm.

"When we got here, they wouldn't let us talk to him. He was all ready to be taken in the ambulance when I drove in the parking lot," Cornelius said.

His son is expected to be OK and was released from the hospital soon after arriving.

"When the phone rings that early in the morning, you don't know. But he was OK and he made sure he told his mom that he was OK," Cornelius said.

VIDEO: Witness captures sounds of gunshots on cell phone

Lee Williams watched as his neighborhood erupted in gunfire Monday morning. He shared cell phone video of the sound of gunshots ringing through the neighborhood.

"I saw the flash from the gun, and the car stopped briefly, and took off," Williams said.

But instead of running to safety, he decided to help out.

"I went back inside, got my flashlight, and come and stood right there kind of where the back of that Impala was, waving at traffic because this is a very heavy traffic cut-through location," he said.

Williams tried to keep people from driving right into the crossfire, by using his flashlight to get their attention and divert them to a side street.

It was early, around 6:30 a.m., and Williams said drivers often use his street as a shortcut.

"The police got here while I was standing outside with my neighbor, and while I was standing right there a bullet whizzed right over our heads," he said.

Williams was less than a block away from the shooter, and said he stopped several cars from driving right into harm's way.

The person recording the video shakes each time a shot is fired.

Alan Wakim, who was injured during Monday's mass shooting said, "My first thought was get the hell out of there."

Simply put, Wakim says he's thankful to be alive after bullets peirced his car's windshield and barely missed him during the active-shooter situation while driving to work.

"I can't believe that this happened, how close it was, there's pictures of bullet landed right here," explained Wakim.

Although he wasn't actually hit by the bullets, Wakim didn't get out unharmed as shattered glass from those gunshots sprayed everywhere.

Wakim mentioned, "There's shards of glass all over my face and in my eyes and there's an optomologist who's working on me."

Wakim says he can vividly remember the moment he got to safety.

It happened to be around the same time when his wife reached out after also hearing everything unfold not too far from their home.

"My wife calls I pick up the phone and tell her I've been hit I've. I don't know the condition of what was going on all I know is I have ringing in my ears and my eyes were hurting," said Wakim.

Molleda, his wife said, "This is only what you see in a movie, what you hear about, it never happens to you. When it does, you put everything into perspective of what's more important than yesterday."

Wakim was rushed to Methodist Hospital were doctors worked to remove glass from eyes.

While follow-ups are likely now in order as he looks to recover, he's says he's glad things didn't end any worse for him.

Still, he won't be forgetting the terrifying ordeal he went through anytime soon.

"Thank God he was looking over me and maybe God has something for me in the future but I was lucky," said Wakim.

Memorial shooting victim offers support

Denise Slaughter was shot during the mass shooting May 29 on Memorial Drive.

She just happened to be at a doctor's appointment when the Weslayan mass shooting happened. She said she wants to give support to the other shooting victims. 

"I was just at a doctor's appointment as a coincidence. I was in the area and I wanted to go to the families and let them know I was a victim and let them know they're where they need to be to help their loved ones. Doctors, great hospitals and they can get through this," Slaughter said.

She was shot in the legs when around 10 bullets were fired into her car as she was leaving her subdivision over Memorial Day weekend.

"I'm working hard to get my strength back and they cut a lot of muscle out away and I have a lot of nerve damage and I'm working hard with that but I'm lucky to be alive, very lucky," Slaughter said. 


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