Texas investigators dig for leads in shooting of 5

[November 21, 2013]  HOUSTON (AP) — A sheriff says the deaths of three people inside an apartment where gunfire erupted is another "waste" of young lives in a suburban area of Houston that has dealt with its share of violence this month.

A young man and two young women died Wednesday after each was shot multiple times, including in the head, at the Sunbury Downs Apartments in an unincorporated area 25 miles northwest of downtown Houston. Another man and woman were critically wounded, Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia said.

Earlier this month, another deadly shooting claimed the lives of two teenagers at a house party in a different unincorporated area about seven miles away.

"It's a waste of human life that we're talking tonight once again about young people who will not get to fulfill the promise that they were born with," Garcia said Wednesday.

Investigators continue to search for clues hoping they lead them to a suspect in the apartment shooting. They waited at the Memorial Hermann-Texas Trauma Institute in Houston for an opportunity to interview the two survivors, Garcia said.

All the victims were in their late teens to early 20s, he said, adding that their names would not be released until their families could be notified.

Deputies have no description of the gunman. Witnesses say a man shot the victims inside the one-bedroom downstairs apartment, closed the apartment door and fled, Garcia said.

The victims were all seated when the gunfire started, he said. There were no signs of forced entry or struggle.

Garcia said investigators found firearms and a substance that appeared to be an illegal drug inside the apartment. He did not specify.

There was no evidence that anyone besides the shooter was armed and fired any shots, the sheriff said. No motive has been established and it was unclear how many of the victims lived at the apartment.

Neighbors heard no sounds indicating a struggle or other disturbance before the shots, Garcia said.

The shooting happened in a cluster of apartment complexes. Terry Noisom said she has been a tenant in a neighboring complex for 13 years and has seen an increase in drug activity and car break-ins in recent years.

"It's gotten bad," she said.

The house party shooting on Nov. 9 in the nearby unincorporated area of Cypress left 19 people injured in addition to the two deaths. An 18-year-old man has been charged.

[Associated Press; JUAN A. LOZANO]

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.