A teenager’s 16th birthday party ended in gunfire at a Brazoria County Airbnb rental over the weekend.
Deputies first received a loud noise complaint Saturday at a Manvel home near the 4400 block of Hickory Ridge Lane, Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Anthony Hurse II said.
A teenager’s 16th birthday party descended into chaos at an Airbnb in Manvel on Saturday April 9, 2022. Video: Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office
Shortly after, deputies got another at 10:41 p.m. that said shots had been fired in the area, he said.
Cars and homes were damaged, but no fatalities were reported, according to ABC 13. A teenager was shot in the foot.
The video shows people running and hiding behind cars as gunfire from at least three different guns fires for about 23 seconds.
“There were so many gunshots, I can’t believe there weren’t more injuries, more deaths, more damage,” Robin V said. says ABC 13. “You know it could have (be) so much worse.”
Robin came home late Saturday night with her daughter, right in the middle of the fiasco.
“A lot of very young children. It got out of hand very quickly,” she said. “I know it could happen anywhere, but I feel like it could have been avoided.”
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“Maybe it was meant to be a small gathering, but it was broadcast on social media as a party,” Hurse II said. “Once you do that on social media, anyone is going to show up.”
BCSO lead investigator Robert Gonzalez said the department was trying to get information from the public after struggling to learn much from revelers.
“A fight ensued and people started running,” he told ABC 13. “That’s all I have.”
He asks anyone with information to contact him.
Several residents told the station that the neighborhood HOA doesn’t allow short-term rentals and that this isn’t the first time this home has been rented out through the Airbnb app.
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An Airbnb spokesperson confirmed via email on Tuesday that the listing has been temporarily deactivated and the booking guest has been removed from its platform while they investigate further.
“Airbnb prohibits parties and we condemn this senseless gun violence,” the spokesperson said. “We have contacted the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office and are ready to support their investigation.”
Airbnb also has a Prohibition “party house” enacted in 2019 that prohibits “open” parties, as well as large disruptive gatherings in apartment or condominium buildings.
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