Two dead, three injured after shooting at teen party in Texas, as police launch desperate hunt for killer

Two teens have been killed and three injured in a fatal shooting at a “pop-up” party for teens in north Houston, Texas.

Police responded to a shooting Saturday evening near the 10100 block of Jensen Drive after gunshots rang out through a “makeshift club” full of teenagers, Houston police said.

After arriving at the “very hectic scene” around 11:30 p.m., police saw swarms of teenagers running from an empty warehouse.

They found a 16-year-old boy dead at the scene and a seriously injured 16-year-old girl who later died of her injuries in hospital.

Three other teens – ages 13, 16 and 19 – were also shot and are being treated at Texas Children’s Hospital. The 13-year-old girl is in critical condition, while the 16- and 19-year-old girls suffered non-fatal injuries, according to police.

The suspect fled the scene when authorities arrived, Houston police wrote in a statement.

Sheriff Ed Gonzalez warned on X, “These impromptu, unsanctioned pop-up parties can quickly lead to chaos and violence. These parties quickly come together via social media.

“Pop-up parties raise public safety concerns and teens should stay away for their own safety.”

Police said the gunman had fled the scene of the unregulated party by the time they arrived Saturday evening

Houston Mayor John Whitmire was on the scene after the shooting and noted that the security guards were “moving up” and that the party was completely unregulated.

Police have launched a manhunt to find out who is responsible for Saturday evening’s tragedy. Authorities have also asked for the community’s help.

“We are going to use all our resources to find out what happened tonight and who did this so we can bring them to justice,” Assistant Chief Luis Menendez-Sierra said at a news conference after the shooting.

“If you were here tonight, we need your help. If you witnessed what happened, we need to call you [the tip line]. We need your information so we can bring these people to justice.”

“We lost a number of young people tonight that was very preventable if they didn’t come to locations like this,” Whitmire said.

In August, another Texas teen died just weeks before his 18th birthday during an angry teen party at a vacant new construction home.

Landon Reyes, 17, was found dead with gunshot wounds in the backyard of the vacant property after being shot at the drug-fueled party at Brookmill in Bexar County.

Assistant Chief Luis Menendez-Sierra asked any community members or witnesses with information to come forward

He was one of more than a hundred teenagers who were near the 3900 block of Rock Mill Dam for the overnight rager. Bexar County Sheriff Josie Salazaar described the event as a “recipe for disaster.”

The sheriff said the teens typically find out about these parties through social media and then show up to “organize a takeover,” similar to Saturday night’s incident in Houston.

Salazar added that officers had broken up a party at the same building just two weeks earlier.