14-year-old boy shot in the leg while walking out to the trash in Katy, authorities say
KATY, Texas (KTRK) -- A 14-year-old boy was hospitalized after he was shot in the leg while taking out the trash in northwest Harris County, according to authorities.
Investigators with the Harris County Sheriff's Office are trying to figure out who pulled the trigger and whether the teenager was targeted.
There was no word on how the shooting victim was doing, but investigators did say he underwent surgery at Memorial Hermann downtown. They also said they don't have a lot of leads.
Video from eyewitnesses showed the teenager being taken on a stretcher from the spot where he collapsed on Dunbrook Park Lane in the Villages of Bear Creek neighborhood in Katy.
Investigators said someone shot him in the leg just 30 seconds after he walked out to the trash at about 5:15 p.m. at a home around the corner.
SkyEye video showed the scene near the intersection of River Knoll Lane and Bear Meadow Lane, where investigators found two shell casings. Aside from that, they said that they don't have a lot to go on.
"We're trying to find leads. We're trying to find some people who saw something, heard something. Any slight detail," an investigator said at the scene. "Somebody else may know something or have heard something, and we can put that together."
No one came forward as a witness on Tuesday, but investigators did spend a few hours looking for surveillance video and talking with neighbors. Two women who live in the area and have teenage sons said their hearts go out to the 14-year-old and his family, and they're now worried for their children.
"These kids, they walk around in the neighborhood peaceful. For something like this to happen, (it's) alarming now," LaTasha, a neighbor, said.
"My son is 15 years old. He could've been walking down the street just as well," Tamela added. "If this is a random incident, then it makes me definitely concerned for the safety of this neighborhood."
HCSO investigators said they have no reason to believe that the community has an ongoing threat. They were hoping they could talk to the teenager after his surgery to see if he had any helpful information about who shot him.
