Two shot downtown overnight

Police are investigating two shootings downtown early this morning, one a drive-by on the south end of downtown and another a mysterious incident near a construction project in the Second Ward.

The drive-by happened at about 2:30 a.m. outside a bar at Milam and Pease. A group was walking out of the bar when a black Hummer drove up and someone in the vehicle opened fire on the victim, a young woman. Officials said the woman had a confrontation with someone in the Hummer two or three weeks ago, and that might have led to the shooting; her friends were shocked. "Just a coward — I can't put it in any other way. A guy shoots at a girl," Jason Pettas, one of her friends, told KTRK. "I've known her for two or three years. She's always helped people in need. She's got two kids. She works really hard. She takes care of her mother. She was just a great person." Police pulled over a Hummer they believe was connected with the incident in southeast Houston not long after the shooting and took four people into custody.

Then, around 5 a.m., a security guard working on a condominium construction site at Navigation and Canal heard gunshots, investigated and found a body lying in the street. Police arrived and found four bullet casings near a trash bin, but didn't turn up a weapon. HPD homicide Det. Bill Booth said an autopsy is being conducted to determine the number of gunshot wounds in the man, who hasn't been identified. "We don't know anything about him yet," Booth told the Chronicle. Officers said he appeared to be homeless.