New surveillance footage shows customers fleeing through a Houston restaurant as gunfire erupted during a shooting at a nearby grocery store in Chinatown, leaving a security guard and a customer critically injured.
The incident happened shortly after 8pm on Friday, October 9, at the Great Wall Supermarket in the 9800 block of Bellaire Boulevard, near Beltway 8.
Video from Juicy Box, a restaurant a few doors away, shows people rushing through the premises towards the kitchen and out of the building as they tried to escape the shooting.
Customers ran through restaurant after Houston Chinatown shooting
Claire Pec Sapon, who was working at the back of the restaurant, said about 20 people suddenly ran into the kitchen.
“All I hear is run, run, run,” she said. “I was scared, honestly. I was thinking about calling my loved ones, thinking what was the next step to do.”
Lesly Cux-Saso said she saw between 15 and 20 people running towards the rear of the restaurant before following them outside.
“In my head, like, this can’t be happening,” she said. “You could still hear the gunshots as we went outside. I was scared. I didn’t know how to feel.”
Another employee, Jasmine Reyes, said she initially did not realise what was happening because staff had not heard the first shots.
“All you heard was run, run. There’s a shooting,” she said. “At first, I couldn’t believe it because we didn’t hear anything. We didn’t know that was happening.”
Houston police said the violence began after a man and a woman entered the supermarket with a dog. A security guard reportedly told them the animal could not come inside because of health concerns, prompting an argument.
Investigators believe the customer and the security guard exchanged gunfire. Both men were taken to hospital in critical condition.
An officer responding to the disturbance heard the shots and called for additional units. Police then detained the customer, who is believed to be in his 20s.
The woman and the dog were not hurt, and authorities said there was no continuing threat to the public. The woman remained at the scene to speak with detectives.
Houston police are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting. The identities of the injured men have not been released.
