Investigations are underway after masked gunmen shot and injured children in a home

HOUSTON (TN) — Police are searching for three people who are said to have shot and injured children while breaking into a house.

According to Houston police, four children ages 10, 14, 15 and 16 were injured Thursday evening.

Authorities said three masked individuals came to the door of a home in the 2200 block of Collier Street and began shooting each other.

“Family members were outside, saw the attackers coming, saw them with the guns, tried to get in, went to the door and yelled for people to come out, and eventually the door was opened and then we believe two of the men, two of the suspects, fired pistols into the house,” said Megan Howard, deputy chief of the Houston Police Department.

All three people fled on foot before the police arrived.

The victims, including one with serious abdominal injuries, were taken to a hospital.

Investigators believe the attackers were teenagers.

“We have some leads that investigators are currently following up on at the scene,” Howard said.

Police officials were unable to provide further details as they are “actively pursuing leads.”

Howard pointed out that there were adults in the house.

“So we have children, parents, grandparents in the house,” she said.

There is no danger to the community.

Police investigators believe that it was a targeted shooting and not a random act.

We currently do not fear any active, sustained violence by armed men in the neighborhood.

Investigators are looking for surveillance videos that could help them identify the people as the investigation progresses.

A family member told KTRK that their 15-year-old nephew, who was shot in the abdomen, is still in intensive care and reportedly lost part of his colon.

She also told local media that her 14-year-old niece was shot in the thigh and the 16-year-old boy and 10-year-old girl were injured, but not seriously.

Family members reported that there was an ongoing dispute between one of the siblings and another child in the neighborhood on social media.