2 landscapers dead, 1 injured after 15-year-old coworker pulls gun: Clute police

Houston teen accused of shooting landscaping coworkers

A 15-year-old is in custody after allegedly opening fire on four coworkers while at a landscaping job near Houston.

CLUTE, Texas - A 15-year-old Houston resident is in custody and facing capital murder charges after he shot three of his four landscaping crew members while working in Clute on Monday.

Clute police say the teen appears to have been suffering a medical episode at the scene.

Clute fatal shooting

What we know:

Clute officers arrived at the scene in the 200 block of Dixie Drive after receiving a call of shots fired around 1:18 p.m. They found three gunshot victims at the scene, all a part of a five-man landscaping crew.

After investigating at the scene, it was reportedly found that the teen had pulled out a handgun while the crew was on their lunch break and began shooting at the four other men. Three were struck, and the fourth managed to escape unharmed.

One victim, a man from Houston, died at the scene. The two other victims, also adult men, were taken to a nearby hospital for their injuries. One died at the hospital, and the other is expected to survive.

The suspect was taken into custody at the scene, and was first taken to a hospital due to apparently suffering a medical episode, Clute PD said. 

He has since been booked into the Brazoria County Juvenile Detention Center, where they say he will be charged with multiple felonies. 

What we don't know:

The identities of those involved have not been released. 

Clute PD said the exact ages of the victims were not available to report.

What they're saying:

A counter sales assistant at Napa Auto Parts, Zachary Mills, was at work and heard the shots ring out. 

"Two of my co-workers walked down the side of the building, and I was standing at the side doors just watching them, and they turned around and ran back after they saw what they saw, so I ran back inside the building, ran through the warehouse did that and took a look outside and saw a gentleman laying on the ground he was deceased, you could tell, but there were another gentlemen who was stumbling up against the landscaping truck that was here, and it looked like he was wounded just based off the way he was stumbling, and he was using the hood of the truck to support himself," said Mills. "We heard 2 loud pops and the way it sounded, it sounded like a trailer hitting a curb almost, and so we came out here just to look and as we were opening the door outside just to look we heard another one and were like oh it sounded like a gun shot." 

Mills said it is rare that this type of crime happens in this small town. 

"It definitely shakes you up. You never want to see anything like that. It's the first time I've ever been that close to something like that. It makes you think... it makes you think," Mills said. "It's just weird, it's a gut punch." 

What's next:

 The men, all from Houston, worked for Houston-based company Green Trees Lawn and Special Services. 

FOX 26 news reporter, Leslie DelasBour, spoke with the owner's son about the incident. He says his focus is to work and continue notifying the victims' families. He adds he is trying to piece together and understand what happened on Monday.