A drive-by shooting at a community rally on the Texas Southern University campus Wednesday night left six people wounded, a school spokeswoman said. Police believe the incident was gang-related.
One male student was among the six people who were shot and treated for serious, but non-life-threatening injuries, TSU spokeswoman Eva Pickens said.
Witnesses told police that one car drove by and opened fire on the parking lot where a popular Houston rapper was promoting community service and voter registration, Pickens said.
Peter Role, a local music promoter, told the Houston Chronicle he heard what sounded “like the Fourth of July.”
“We heard some gunshots and everybody was hitting the ground,” Role said.
Campus police believe the incident resulted from a rivalry between two gangs, one from Missouri City, a suburb southwest of Houston, and the other from Fresno, a small town outside Missouri City, she said.
Among the rally participants was Houston City Councilman Peter Brown, who is running for mayor in November’s election.
Lucinda Guinn, who manages Brown’s mayoral campaign, said the rally — billed as a “family block party” — included a concert by rapper Trae the Truth and featured participants such as Brown and U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee. Guinn said she had no details on the shootings, but was dismayed that “an effort for bringing a very positive message to the community” would end in violence.
Nancy Byron, Trae’s publicist, told the Chronicle that the rapper already had left the event at 8:30 p.m. or 8:45 p.m. and did not see the shooting.
“We’re very depressed about it and we feel like it<s a black eye on an otherwise very community-driven event,” Byron said.
An e-mail sent to Lee wasn’t immediately returned. Her telephone mailbox was full and wouldn’t take messages.
Texas Southern is a historically black university in Houston with an enrollment approaching 10,000 students.
