HOUSTON – A man who police said was shot during a home invasion in east Houston Monday is expected to recover, according to his son.
The incident happened in the 12700 block of Coulson Street around 11:10 p.m.
Officers said when they arrived at the scene, they found Arturo Pena with a gunshot wound to the head. Police said he was transported to an area hospital.
According to investigators, the man runs a trucking business out of his home. The victim’s teenage son, Eric Pena, was in his room sleeping when the door was kicked down by four suspects, police said.
“During the incident, I hid in the closet as soon as I heard that. I didn’t want them to obviously shoot me. I stayed calm. I didn’t want to be a threat,” Eric said.
Officers said the men went into the residence and located Eric hiding in a closet. They then forced him into a bathtub and told him to be quiet, police said.
Police said the two armed suspects spread out in the home and one of them fired four rounds of shots, striking the victim in the head.
“When I opened the door to my room, he shot me,” Arturo said just hours after being shot in the head.
He said he got out of his bed when he heard someone breaking down his front door.
“He didn’t tell me nothing, he shot me,” Arturo said while recounting the violent home invasion.
While bleeding, Arturo said the two suspects started screaming at him.
“The men took some items from the home, some very expensive items, and ran out the back,” said Lt. Ronnie Willkens with Houston Police Department.
Willkens said the suspects, three of them who spoke Spanish and one who police said appeared to be a Black male, then fled through the back door of the residence.
Police said it appears that the man may have been targeted for his equipment.
“All I’m saying is that he’s a businessman and he has a lot of equipment in the backyard,” Willkens said. “It’s possible that they just targeted that specifically because they possibly know that there’s money in the place.”
Jacinto County officer Sonny Flores, a neighbor across the street, said the victim’s son was knocking on his door asking for help after the men broke into their home and shot his father in the head.
Flores said he’d just returned home when he heard something at the front door.
“Came knocking on my door saying, ‘My dad got shot, my dad got shot.’ From there, I went across the street the father was laying on the floor,” Flores said.
Flores said it was evident that his neighbor had suffered a gunshot wound to the head.
“We were on the phone with 911. My main concern was the victim on the ground and making sure he was ok and that he was still conscious and breathing until paramedics got here,” Flores said.
For now, Flores said he’s thinking about his neighbor and his family.
“They are good, quiet people,” Flores said.
Eric said his father is doing fine.
“I don’t know how he’s recovered. It’s a miracle from God,” Eric said. “Thank God he’s alive.
Eric said he could hear this father crying and screaming when the suspects demanded money from him.
“My dad was crying, screaming, like, ‘That’s all I have. That’s everything.’ He said he promised, he swears,” Eric recalled. “He’s a warrior. He’s a fighter. I love my dad.”
Police said the suspects still have not been found. Willkens said investigators plan to look at surveillance video to better assist them in their search for the suspects.