Two men were shot inside a Kroger grocery store in North Harris County, Texas, on Wednesday afternoon, in an incident that turned a routine shopping run into a frightening scene and forced the store to close for hours. Authorities responded in force, and while the shooting drew early fears of a wider attack, officials later indicated that the violence appeared to be confined to the two people who were struck by gunfire.
The gunfire erupted just before 3 p.m. on Cypress Wood Drive, near FM 1960, in the Fairfield area, a busy shopping plaza that also includes restaurants and other businesses. According to the Harris County Constable Precinct 4, deputies received multiple calls reporting a discharge of firearms, a weapons disturbance and someone being shot, and units arrived at the store quickly after the first reports came in.
Officials said two people were struck by the gunfire, both of them men. One had at least one gunshot wound, while the other had several wounds across his body. One of the injured men was detained as he walked out of the store and was taken to hospital, while the other, more seriously hurt, was flown out by medical helicopter for treatment.
Investigators were cautious about the circumstances, stressing that the inquiry was still in its early stages. According to the constable's office, one of the two men who were shot may turn out to be the shooter, and it was possible that only a single gun had been fired inside the store, though officers said they could not yet rule out a second weapon or a second shooter until they had reviewed the evidence.
There were early indications that the two men may have known each other. Officials said a domestic dispute was among the possibilities being examined, but they declined to confirm any motive, saying that the relationship between the two and the sequence of events would have to be established through the investigation. They also would not say whether one of the wounds might have been self-inflicted.
Crucially, officials said that no bystanders appeared to have been shot. Only the two men with gunshot wounds had been confirmed as victims, and investigators said they could not yet say whether either was an employee. The store was being cleared with multiple sweeps to make sure no one else was hurt, a process officers said would take time given the size of the premises.
Outside the store, employees and customers who had been inside stood in the parking lot visibly shaken, some in tears, as deputies began taking statements. The Kroger was expected to remain closed for several hours, possibly for the rest of the day, while investigators combed the aisles and reviewed the store's surveillance footage. In a later briefing, officials said both wounded men had been taken to hospital in critical condition and that deputies were still trying to locate the weapon used, noting that the review of the surveillance footage would span several aisles across the large store. Authorities urged the public to avoid the area and said further details would be released as the investigation developed.
As the investigation advanced, a suspect was identified and charged. Investigators named the suspected shooter as 20-year-old Kaden Osbrooks, who has been charged with a first-degree felony of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. According to investigators, the two men involved knew each other and had gotten into some sort of fight, though officials said they had not released additional details about the relationship between them or what specifically led to the shooting, as detectives continued to review the surveillance video recovered from inside the store.