HOUSTON – Some west Houston neighbors said they are concerned after hearing a series of gunshots near their homes late last week.
“It wasn’t just a couple of shots in the air,” Craig Long said. “This was different.”
The incident happened around 6:20 a.m. Friday morning at the Tanglewilde neighborhood. Long shared surveillance video from his home near Tanglewilde Street and Richmond Avenue. The audio on the recording captures the apparent shots, which number more than a dozen.
“It sounded like large-caliber guns,” Long said.
He reported what he heard to the police twice.
“I want to keep my nice, clean neighborhood,” Long said. “I don’t want shootings in my neighborhood, so yeah, it bothers me.”
About a block away, neighbor Keith Davis said he heard the gunshots as well and is also concerned.
“They go through walls, they go through windows and being in such close proximity, you could end up with a gunshot wound and you didn’t earn it,” he said. “We don’t know where the apparent shots came from.”
Long believes they may be tied to the parking lot of a nearby business plaza.
Houston police said they received a call around 6:25 a.m. about the discharging of firearms. When the officer arrived around 6:50 a.m., they drove around but did not see anything suspicious or determine where the shots came from.
HPD spokesman John Cannon said if neighbors hear gunshots, they should report them like Long did. However, Cannon said police also have to prioritize their calls so it may take some time for an officer to arrive unless they get word that someone is hurt.
Long said he’s also stopped by a police station twice.
“I want to walk around in this neighborhood and not have to worry about it,” Long said.