16-year-old shot and killed in Cleveland HEB parking lot

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - A 16-year-old boy has been shot and killed at 100 Truly Plaza in an HEB parking lot near a Hartz Chicken restaurant, becoming the first homicide case for Cleveland police this year.

Police in Cleveland, a city an hour north of Houston, say a white Ford van with damage to the right passenger side and a red truck were seen in the HEB parking lot by witnesses and surveillance cameras before the gunfire took place.

Both vehicles leave, police say, and are seen at the same location a short time later.

"An individual does get out of the white van and walks over to the red truck," said Cleveland Police Chief Darrel Broussard.

That person then gets into the passenger side of the truck, police say.

"Some disagreement may have taken place inside the truck and that's when the shots were fired," said Broussard.

The shot teen gets out of the truck and the passenger slides over and drives the truck away.

The teen approached a customer in the drive thru lane at a nearby Hartz Chicken.

"A male came up and tapped on the door and suddenly collapsed," said the police chief.

The teen was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

A couple of hours later, the red truck is found going up in flames.

"That is our strong belief at this time that they were trying to destroy whatever evidence may be possibly involved in this case," Broussard said.

The other suspicious vehicle, a white van, was located on Thursday on the south side of Houston. It has been recovered and will be processed for evidence. 

Police are sifting through surveillance video and witness statements trying to solve their first homicide of this year.

Anyone with any information about this case should contact Cleveland Police at 281-592-2622.