Houston police said that two men held by a human smuggling ring, one with a gunshot wound, escaped from their captors and called for help at a local IHOP.
Commander Jonathon Halliday said to reporters on Wednesday afternoon that the men told police that they had escaped from a "human smuggling situation" at a hotel near the IHOP in east Houston where they alerted authorities. Halliday said police pulled over two vehicles leaving the scene and detained nine people.
"But we're not sure which of them are victims and which are possible suspects at this time," he said.
Two additional gunshot victims showed up at local hospitals, one shot in the arm and the other in the leg, Halliday said. Both are approximately 30 to 40 years old and are in stable condition. Police suspect one of the victims was a perpetrator in the smuggling ring, but have not made a determination, according to Halliday.
Police are continuing to investigate the incident and interviewing the detained men along with agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said Halliday. Once police identify the victims, they will be given appropriate resources.
"Right now, our Major Assaults and Family Violence unit detectives are on scene to investigate the shooting as well as our vice division is looking into the human smuggling aspect," said Halliday.
All of the victims and suspects are male. Police have not released the names of the victims and suspects, nor their ages and nationality.
Victims told investigators that the shooting happened earlier in the morning, approximately two hours west in an unspecified location in the San Antonio area, according to Halliday. Police have received reports of a fourth victim they have been unable to locate as they continue to monitor local hospitals.
"We're very early in our investigation, so this is preliminary information that is subject to change," said Halliday.
Police are waiting for DHS agents to assist with the human smuggling aspect of the incident, Halliday told reporters.
While details in Houston are still emerging, Texas has seen a string of human trafficking-related incidents, some of which have been deadly.
Authorities near San Antonio over the summer discovered a truck containing 53 dead migrants from Mexico and Central America attempting to cross into the country. Another four migrants died in a car crash in south Texas after a driver suspected of human smuggling attempted to elude authorities.
Police in Splendora, a town north of Houston, announced in a Facebook post in October that they had arrested a driver after making a traffic stop who was discovered to be smuggling seven unauthorized migrants across state lines.
Houston police spokesman John Cannon told Newsweek that DHS has taken over the investigation of the incident. Newsweek reached out to the department for comment.
Update 11/02/22, 5:45 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information and background.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Jake Thomas is a Newsweek night reporter based in Portland, Oregon. His focus is U.S. national politics, crime and public ... Read more
