Mother shot by Houston Zoo security on Friday shares her side of the story
HOUSTON - The woman shot by two security guards at the Houston Zoo on Friday is sharing her story with FOX 26 Houston. 28-year-old Diamond Hunter said she was moving her car in the parking lot when zoo security mistook her for fleeing the scene.
Hunter said the situation originally stemmed from an argument over a parking spot. But she says it escalated when a man preventing her from parking hit her two-year-old son.
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Cell phone video shows the chaotic scene in the parking lot just minutes before the mother was shot twice in the head by zoo security.
"The husband was driving at first. He got out and let his wife get in the driver's seat, and he proceeded to sit on top of my car," said Hunter.
Speaking to FOX 26 from her hospital bed, Hunter said before zoo security arrived, the man seen on video hit her son.
"He backhanded my two-year-old son," said Hunter.
Houston police say Hunter tried to take off from the scene, but the mother said she was trying to move her vehicle.
"So I told him ‘hey I’m going to pull out of the parking lot. I’m going to drive around and stop right here.’ He gave me the okay," said Hunter.
Police said another security guard approached her vehicle, she hit him with her car, and shots were fired into the vehicle with children inside.
"He jumped in front of my car. I swerved, popped the curb, and as soon as I popped the curb that’s when I got shot, went blank, then hit the tree," said Hunter.
Now, the mother is recovering from multiple gunshot wounds at Memorial Hermann Hospital.
"I really want justice. This man is not getting away with it," said Hunter.
None of the children were injured in the shooting. The Houston Police Department said there are currently no charges against Hunter or the security guards from the Houston Zoo.