Man opens fire at Houston strip mall injuring 9

NEW YORK (FOX5NY) -  

Nine people were shot and wounded, one critically, in a Houston neighborhood Monday morning by a lawyer who had issues with his law firm, authorities said.

The shooter was shot by police and apprehended near Weslayan and Bissonnet streets in the southwest section of the city.

The first report of the shootings began at about 6:30 a.m., Police Chief Martha Montalvo said at a news conference, and when officers arrived, the suspect began firing at them. Police shot the man, whom Montalvo did not identify and who later died at the scene.

Numerous weapons were found at the scene and a bomb-squad robot is looking at a Porsche that's believed to be the shooter's.

Mayor Sylvester Turner, who is in Cuba for a trade mission, told KTRK-TV that the lawyer was "disgruntled."

"He was either fired or had a bad relationship with this law firm," Turner said.

"The investigation is active. It's very, very early. We want to make sure there is no other gunman. We are checking every angle, I can assure you," Turner told the TV station.

Of the nine wounded, one is in critical condition, another is in serious condition and three people were treated and released, Montalvo said.

Some witnesses have described the gunman firing dozens of shots at cars passing through the neighborhood. Several cars with bullet holes and shattered windows were at a nearby strip mall parking lot.

The shooting comes days after a shooting at a Washington state mall that left five people dead. On Sept. 17, a 20-year-old man stabbed 10 people at a Minnesota mall before being shot to death by an off-duty police officer.

It is unclear the extent of the injuries to the shooting victims.  A fire official said some people were shot while insider their cars and the conditions of those wounded was varied.

A witness told the local Fox TV station that she heard many shots fired.  Another witness showed the bullet hole in his car seat.  She says he was driving down the street in the area when a bullet from the shooting went right into his car.

Another witness showed two bullet holes in the window of their driver's side window.

An emergency alert was sent out by the city to avoid the area.

With the Associated Press