HOUSTON – An investigation is underway at a southwest Houston group home after a man with special needs said he was shot by someone who was supposed to be his caretaker -- apparently over barbecue chicken.
Police said it happened in September on Landsbury Drive near Stancliff Road.
Derrick Johnson-Thomas, 39, told KPRC 2 that he is trying to make sense of what happened to him while living in a group home.
“He said, ‘why did (I) eat some chicken’ and he pulled out his gun, stuck it to my leg, and shot me,” the victim said.
Johnson-Thomas said the man who shot him was someone the owner brought in as a volunteer.
“I think they were kind of jealous of Derrick because every two weeks I got paid, I’d bring him some money to put in his pocket,” said Sheila Johnson, Derrick’s mother.
Even after being shot, Johnson-Thomas and his mother said it wasn’t until the owner was notified that he was taken to the hospital by private vehicle.
“I stayed there for about 15 minutes on the ground with blood everywhere,” he said.
Johnson-Thomas has since moved to a different home but said irreversible damage has been done. His knee bone was shattered, and even though a metal rod was put in, he will need a walker for the rest of his life.
His mother stood by his side along with Dr. Candace Matthews of the New Black Panther Nation, calling for the man who shot him to be arrested and the group home to be shut down.
“This volunteer that shot him -- a background check was supposed to be done. There should be no weapons on no type of premises like that when you have that type of client,” she said.
The owner of the group home did not respond to questions asked by KPRC 2. We also reached out to Adult Protection Services, and they said any information regarding the investigation will have to come from law enforcement.
No arrests have been made and Houston Police Department’s Major Assaults and Family Violence Division are investigating.