1-year-old boy shot in apparent Houston road rage incident, police say

A 1-year-old boy has been injured in an apparent road rage shooting in Houston, police said.

The boy's father was driving on the Southwest Freeway in southwest Houston on Wednesday around 1:15 p.m. when the suspect fired his gun at least once, striking the child in the upper shoulder near his neck, a spokeswoman for the Houston Police Department told reporters.

The incident appears to have sparked after the father accidentally cut off the suspect, Houston Police Assistant Chief James Jones told reporters. The vehicles did not come in contact with each other, and the father even tried to apologize to the suspect for cutting him off, Jones said.

The father then pulled into a Phillips 66 gas station and ran inside with the baby, police said. Once inside, he called for help and tried to help his son stay alert and awake, the spokeswoman said.

The father was frantic as he carried his bleeding child into the store, a witness told ABC Houston station KTRK.

Another child was also inside the car, KTRK reported. A female passenger was inside the suspect's vehicle at the time, the spokeswoman said.

The toddler was transported to the Texas Children's Hospital and is in stable condition, the spokeswoman said.

Jones described the shooting as a "tragedy."

"Sometimes people don’t think and react," he said. "It makes no sense at all."

Police have not yet identified a suspect, but investigators are searching for a newer model of a light blue Toyota Camry or Honda Accord, Jones said.

The Houston Police Department's homicide unit is investigating the case since a 1-year-old was involved, the spokeswoman said.

Additional details were not immediately available.