Apr 17, 11:52 PM EDT


Smugglers Suspected in Freeway Shootout


HOUSTON (AP) -- People in two trucks exchanged gunfire along a freeway Tuesday, killing a man and injuring several others in what police say might have been a shootout among rival immigrant smuggling gangs.

The trucks exited and crashed into a car before the occupants "proceeded to get out of their vehicles to have a shootout," said police Sgt. C.E. Elliott.

Investigators are trying to determine whether the shootout might have been one smuggler's attempt to hijack a rival's load of immigrants.

One of the trucks was carrying at least 10 people, police said.

One man was in critical condition at a nearby hospital after being shot in the head and run over by a pickup truck or sports utility vehicle as it sped from the scene.

Detectives found a man dead in the other bullet-riddled pickup. Three other gunshot victims later turned up at area hospitals.

Police did not immediately release the names of any of the people involved in the shootout.

At least two other vehicles were hit by stray bullets, but no one was injured.

Police had one suspect in custody Tuesday night.


http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/ ... SECTION=US