Houston business owner reopens food truck months after getting shot 6 times

HOUSTON - A Houston man is reopening his food truck, Aurelian Culinary Company, while he continues to recover from getting shot.

"Physically, I’m doing better," said J.D. Valdez. "I’m recovering. I’m just trying to get over the mental part.  The damage is done."

BACKGROUND: Houston man shot six times by a stranger while leaving local grocery store

In August, Valdez had been leaving a Kroger located along the 9100 block of W. Sam Houston Parkway. As he was leaving, he noticed a couple fighting. According to Valdez, the man turned his attention to him as he got to his car.

"He was intoxicated or on something," said Valdez. "[He] turned his attention towards me."

As Valdez got to his car, the man confronted him. Moments later, the stranger started firing his gun.

"I didn’t even see the gun, to be honest," said Valdez. "I just heard the bullets and I felt the impact. My car was still in drive. I hit the gas. I just got out of there as quick as I could as he was still shooting at me."

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Valdez says he felt a burning sensation. A new father at the time, Valdez had been shot six times.

"I really did feel myself fading to black in a sense," said Valdez. "I thought about my wife, my kid who was three months old at the time. I thought about my business I had started a month before.  I just thought, this can’t be the way I go. This can’t be it."

So far this year, there have been 456 homicides in Houston. In comparison, there were 378 through this day last year. 

"I very easily could have been one of them," said Valdez. "I ask myself all of the time, why did I survive? You see my car, you see what happened to me, I don’t understand why I’m still here, to be honest."

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Kendrick Green was arrested in August with charges relating to the shooting.

"The problem is, they’re not prosecuting these guys enough," said Valdez.  "The guy who shot me is a repeat offender, but he was on the streets to do it again. That’s the problem."

Prior to what happened, the Aurelian food truck had been located in Houston. Now, Valdez is reopening in Pinehurst off Highway 249 in a park called "Tres Carnales". Although his business might not get as many customers as it did in Houston, Valdez says he’s prioritizing safety as he heals.

"I’m trying my best to keep going," said Valdez.  "It’s kind of hard to not be a different person at this point."