Teen killed, another wounded in southeast Houston drive-by shooting

A drive-by shooting in southeast Houston left one teen dead and another wounded Thursday afternoon, sending Houston police to the 8700 block of Blackhawk Ridge Lane and pulling a heavy law-enforcement response into a residential area near Great Hawk Lane.

Houston Police Department homicide investigators said the victims were believed to be male teens. One was pronounced dead at the scene, and a second was taken to a local hospital. Police were dispatched at 3:56 p.m., and nearby reports placed the call around 3:55 p.m. near Great Hawk Lane and Blackhawk Ridge Lane, with FOX 26 locating the scene near Monroe Road just before 4 p.m.

Investigators said preliminary information pointed to some kind of altercation before the gunfire, but they had not released suspect information. At this stage, police have not said whether the teens were targeted or whether the shooting grew out of a fight that turned deadly. SkyEye13 flew overhead as officers and detectives collected evidence and worked the scene.

The shooting adds another painful case of youth violence in Harris County, where teen-involved gunfire has already drawn sharp concern from local leaders. In March 2025, Harris County leaders cited at least five teen-involved shootings and four teen deaths in less than a week, a staggering pace that underscored how quickly violence can spread through schools, neighborhoods and families.

HPD has long pointed to prevention efforts such as the Teen and Police Service Academy, founded in 2011 by the late Chief Brian Lumpkin and criminologist Dr. Everette Penn to build trust between teens and police. The department also operates youth programs and its G.R.E.A.T. anti-gang initiative for middle school students, efforts that take on added urgency when a residential block in southeast Houston becomes the scene of a fatal shooting.

For neighbors near Blackhawk Ridge Lane, the immediate concern is not just the loss of life but the unanswered questions left behind: who opened fire, why the confrontation escalated and whether the person or people responsible are still nearby. Detectives were still piecing together the sequence of events as the investigation continued.