4 dead in Houston-area shootings at separate locations, including suspect

A man is believed to have fatally shot three people at two different locations in the Houston area before killing himself on Wednesday, said police, who are still trying to determine a motive for the shootings.

Early indications are that it's all related, Houston Police Department Lt. Larry Crowson said.

Around 1 pm, a driver in the Houston suburb of Sugar Land fired multiple shots at another vehicle, hitting its driver, who was pronounced dead at a hospital, said Alicia Alaniz, a spokesperson for the city police. Police are still trying to determine if the shooting was an instance of road rage, Alaniz said.

About half an hour later, Houston police received a call about a shooting at a mechanic shop about 11 kilometres southeast of the first shooting. Crowson said the shooter shot a mechanic and a witness who was filming him as he was leaving.

The description of the shooter and the vehicle he was in matched the accounts from the Sugar Land shooting, Crowson said.

Police found the shooter dead in his vehicle about 6.4 kilometres away. Authorities believe he killed himself.

Police have not released the names of the victims or the shooter.