Woman still has shotgun pellets lodged in forehead after shooting outside N. Houston after-hours club

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A woman still has shotgun pellets lodged in her forehead after an incident outside an after-hours club in north Houston over the weekend.

Paige Bartlett, 20, said she was standing outside La Mona on West Parker, near the North Freeway, around 3:30 a.m. Sunday, waiting in line to get in.

Bartlett said several security guards were standing outside and one of them had a shotgun.

“It doesn’t make any sense to me. A security guard carries a shotgun,” Bartlett said.

She said she heard someone nearby ask her if it was true.

“They were just meatballs and he went ‘boom,'” Bartlett recalled. “He was just trying to show off to everybody and it backfired.”

The pellets ricocheted off the sidewalk and hit her in the leg and forehead. Houston police said another person was also injured.

Bartlett said she did not immediately know the extent of her head injury, but that she had blood flowing from her head.

“I was screaming because I didn’t know if I was going to die at that moment,” she recalled, crying. “It all happened so fast.”

When Houston police arrived, they said the security guard in question had already left.

ORIGINAL REPORT: Security guard flees after accidental shotgun fire injures two women outside N. Houston club: HPD

In an interview the morning of the shooting, police said there was no incident requiring the guard to fire his weapon.

“The least you can do is make sure people are safe, that other people don’t have guns and that you’re all playing with guns,” Bartlett said.

As of Monday afternoon, Houston police said they had not yet identified the security guard. By midday Tuesday, a spokesperson said the security guard had identified himself and given a voluntary statement.

The unidentified security guard told police he dropped the gun, it hit the ground and the shot was fired. He added that it was not intentional.

“They say it was an accident, but it wasn’t an accident,” Bartlett said. “He could have killed people. People could have been killed.”

HPD said it was unclear whether the guard in question was a licensed security officer, but added that he was employed by a security company and that the other guards who remained on the scene Sunday morning were licensed.

No charges have been filed against the security guard. HPD said the district attorney’s office has referred the case for further investigation.

On June 22, three people were shot in the club’s parking lot around 5 a.m., according to Houston police.

Last year, the city of Houston enacted an ordinance requiring after-hours clubs to obtain a permit from the city and follow regulations.

The City of Houston has confirmed that La Mona does not have a permit.

HPD said it is able to ticket establishments that violate the order, but that will typically be part of a follow-up investigation.

ABC13 was unable to identify or reach the owner of the after hours club for comment.

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