HOUSTON — At least three people were shot and several others were detained in a reported human smuggling incident in west Houston Wednesday morning, police said.
Houston police said officers responded to an IHOP restaurant around 11:30 a.m. after two men showed up, one of them with a gunshot wound to the arm.
The men told police they had escaped from a human smuggling situation at a nearby hotel.
When officers went to the hotel, they stopped two vehicles that were leaving the scene and detained a total of nine people. HPD said they aren't sure which of the nine people are victims and which are possible suspects.
Over the course of the investigation, two other men with gunshot wounds showed up at area hospitals. One had been shot in the leg, the other had been shot in the arm. Each shooting victim is reportedly in stable condition.
One of the people who was shot may be a suspect, HPD said.
Police said everyone involved is an adult man. Their nationality is not yet known.
Victims told police the shooting happened around two hours to the west of Houston in the Greater San Antonio area.
Initial reports suggested there was a fourth shooting victim, but police said they have not been able to find him.
The incident is being investigated by HPD's major assaults and family violence and vice divisions and by the Department of Homeland Security.
No one has been charged in this incident.