'That was my instinct': Nurse reunites with 1-year-old shot in road rage incident

HOUSTON – The 1-year-old boy who was shot during a road rage incident near the Southwest Freeway is now out of the hospital.

Brandon Ross was injured in a shooting that happened Wednesday, May 1, around 1 p.m. near the Southwest Freeway and South Gessner Road, police said.

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According to authorities, Brandon’s father, 20, rear-ended another vehicle near the intersection of Braeswood Boulevard and Bissonnet Street, prompting the other driver to open fire. 

Officers said a bullet traveled through the trunk of the father’s vehicle and hit Brandon in the chest “centimeters away from his heart," according to Brandon’s mother.

Brandon’s father pulled into a nearby gas station, where Joanna Lopez, an off-duty nurse with Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital, rushed to his aid while her husband called 911.

Lopez stayed with Brandon until help arrived. Nearly a week after the shooting, Brandon and Lopez were reunited.

A video from Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital captured the sweet reunion between the two, where Brandon is seen smiling and doing well. 

WATCH: Nurse reunited with child shot in road rage incident 

Lopez and her husband brought Brandon a few toys, including a shark that plays “Baby Shark.”

“I think it’s what anyone would do,” Lopez said as Brandon’s mother thanked her for helping him. “I’m a mother, myself, so that was my instinct. That could be my son. I did what anybody would do.” 

Police are still looking for the shooter.


About the Author:

Daniela Sternitzky-Di Napoli has been a digital news editor at KPRC 2 since 2018. She is a published poet and has background in creative writing and journalism. Daniela has covered events like Hurricane Harvey and the Astros World Series win. In her spare time, Daniela is an avid reader and loves to spend time with her two miniature dachshunds.