HOUSTON — A rideshare driver was shot and killed during a carjacking on the south side early Tuesday morning, according to the Houston Police Department.
Houston police identified the rideshare driver as a 27-year-old Lyft driver who was training to become a pilot and using his mother’s SUV for rideshare driving.
Investigators said this incident marked the third carjacking involving a Lyft driver in the same neighborhood within the past two weeks, showing a clear spike in recent activity.
Neighbors expressed heightened fear, particularly those with children who walk to school nearby. A resident, Kynisha Watson, who recently moved to the neighborhood, expressed feeling shaken up.
“I was afraid, I’m ducking, it was like five gunshots, at least four or five at the most … it makes me scared because like I said I’m back and forth, you know, I’m not from here and I do have a daughter who now I’m trying to get her to start walking to school,” Watson said.
Officers responded to the scene around 2 a.m. on Ward Street near Conley Street and found the victim suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. The victim told responding officers that two men ran up, shot him several times, dragged him from his vehicle and drove away.
While the victim mentioned two suspects, police said they are now searching for three.
Police said the stolen car was a black Hyundai Sonata, which was recovered approximately eight blocks away on a dead-end street at Goforth and Dreyfus.
Police said the victim was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
HPD Det. Alexander Vinogradov said the victim provided limited details before his death. Authorities recovered the victim’s wallet and cell phone at the scene.
“This is not the first incident of an Uber or Lyft driver being carjacked in this area,” Vinogradov said. “We need to put an end to it as soon as we can.”
Police urged rideshare drivers to use extra caution when picking up and dropping off.
Police believe the suspects may have emerged from a nearby dark field and urged residents to review their surveillance footage. Investigators were working to determine if the victim was targeted through a rideshare request.
Anyone with information should contact HPD’s Homicide Division or Crime Stoppers.
