HARRIS COUNTY, Texas -- A gun range employee cleaning a weapon accidentally shot and killed a man in Cypress, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office.
The shooting call was placed shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Hot Wells Shooting Range on Highway 290 near Barker Cypress.
According to the sheriff's office, the employee was cleaning a hunting rifle when it went off. The bullet went through a wall and then a window, striking a 36-year-old man who was walking into the range.
The victim was rushed to the hospital but was later pronounced dead.
Horses at a property adjacent to the Hot Wells Shooting Range got quite the scare Tuesday morning.
"We had two helicopters that were circling the property. They were focused over by Hot Wells, but the horses were acting a little squirrely with the large helicopter noises and all the extra wind," said Courtney Thornton, who trains and rehabs horses here at this facility on West Drive. She's ridden horses here since 2006.
"We had a horse that was out loose in the arena and the practice pen," Thornton said. "They were running back and forth down the fences probably wondering what was going on. I'm all for everybody being able to own a gun, to have a gun, but it is a little concerning being so close to shooting ranges just with those accidents happening--that's why you have to be safe."
Hot Wells has not commented yet on the incident.