1 Dead, 6 Wounded in Houston Shooting; 1 Suspect Killed

— -- One person was killed and five others, including two police officers, were wounded in Houston today after two a shooting involving what officials said were high powered weapons.

One suspect was killed, though it was not yet clear who shot him, and a second man with a gun was wounded after a SWAT team responded, police said.

"One of the suspects was shot and he has expired. We believe he was shot by the other suspect, and the other suspect was eventually shot by one of the SWAT officers when a SWAT team responded," Houston Interim Police Chief Martha Montalvo said.

"The suspect had high powered weapons, AR-15s that they were using, that they were able to actually shoot at a helicopter," she said.

But police said they still weren't clear on what happened, and whether the shooting of police and civilians was carried out by one or both of the armed men.

"The second male who was armed, we're trying to figure out what his role in this was. Was he a suspect or someone who just happened to be armed with a gun," Houston Police Department spokesman John Cannon said. "Until further notice we'll say suspect because he had a gun, OK, but what his role was we don't know."

The man was conscious and talking to investigators, but police said they would not reveal what he told them until they could determine whether his story was true.

"We don't know what his role was yet as to whether or not he even knew the main active shooter or not," Cannon said. "We're in a society where we want to know now, now, now. This is going to take some time before we know the motive."

Police received a call about an active shooter at 10:15 a.m. Authorities say a gunman came in to an auto shop and started shooting. One man there, a customer believed to be in his 50s who had arrived shortly before the shooting began, was killed, police said.

When the first officer arrived on the scene, he was met by a gunman shooting at his vehicle, Montalvo said.

"A suspect shot at the responding officer several times on his windshield," Montalvo said. "By the grace, you know, of God, he did not sustain any injuries."

With the suspect shooting at responding officers and even at a police helicopter overhead, a SWAT team was quickly called in, and the area was cordoned off.

It took more than an hour before they got the situation under control, with one gunman dead and the other wounded and in custody.

Both of the police officers who were shot are expected to be OK, a union rep said. Three other wounded people, two male and one female, were hospitalized with what authorities said were believed to be non-life-threatening injuries.

The police chief said investigators were in the process of identifying the suspects, whom she described as white or Hispanic males.

"We don’t know what started this, but what we do know is they were shooting randomly ... just at whoever came upon the scene," she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.