Shooting at bustling Houston flea market leaves two dead, three critically hurt

US-CRIME-SHOOTING
Houston police vehicles at the scene after two people were killed and three more critically injured in a shooting at a flea market on May 15, 2022. MARK FELIX/AFP /AFP via Getty Images

Two people were dead and three more were hospitalized after a shooting Sunday at a bustling Houston flea market, authorities said.

CBS Houston affiliate KHOU-TV reported that both people who lost their lives were pronounced dead at the scene and the three in hospitals were in critical condition.

The shooting at the open-air market arose from an "altercation" that involved at least two guns and all five of the people, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. He said no "innocent bystanders" were injured.

Investigators believe one of the people hospitalized was among those who opened fire and two more suspected shooters were detained at the scene, a sheriff's office spokesperson told reporters.

Thousands of people were shopping at the market 14 miles north of Houston's downtown when the shooting began around 1 p.m. Sunday, Gonzalez tweeted.

The sheriff said multiple shots were fired and that deputies recovered two pistols from the scene.

Authorities didn't immediately provide further information about what led to the shooting but said all the people involved were men in their 20s who appeared to know each other. The shooting didn't appear to have been random, KHOU said.

"It's very tragic that this happens," the sheriff's spokesperson said. "There are a lot of people … just trying to come out and enjoy the flea market, have something to eat, have something to drink."

Investigators said there is surveillance video of the incident but they haven't found any that shows the entire thing. They also said there are limited witnesses to the shooting because people scattered when deputies arrived.

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