Video shows Spring man shot to death at Chinatown gas station in southwest Houston on Christmas Day, police say

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Houston police have released surveillance footage of the moment a Spring man was gunned down at a Chinatown gas station in southwest Houston on Christmas Day.

Police say 24-year-old Desmond Butler and a passenger had pulled into a gas station on Bellaire Boulevard at West Sam Houston Parkway just after 1 a.m.

Video shows a Hispanic woman emerging from the passenger’s seat of a black GMC Acadia as Butler’s vehicle passes the GMC.

She can be seen running after Butler as he pulls out of the parking lot, grabbing a back passenger’s door handle at one point.

The Hispanic man, who was driving the GMC, then points a gun and begins firing at Butler’s vehicle as it drives away.

Police said Butler only made it a short distance before crashing into a light pole in a parking lot. He was rushed to the hospital with bullet wounds to the head and back but died 12 hours later, according to the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Police said it’s not clear if Butler knew the suspects or what triggered the shooting. His roommate told Eyewitness News that detectives told her the suspects were asking Butler about the whereabouts of their daughter, but said they were complete strangers.

“Desmond Butler had been living in Houston, Texas, for two years after relocating to expand his career with Amazon. He was a loving, selfless person who was always willing to help others and uplift those around him,” Barbara Butler, mother of Desmond Butler, said.

Butler’s funeral is set for Thursday in his hometown of Atlanta.

His roommate said he’d only been living in Houston for a year or two.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

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