On April 14, 2023, Andrew Cole, 43, of Deer Park, Texas, was fatally shot while riding his motorcycle on Interstate 45 near Huntsville. Cole, along with fellow riders Ramiro Sosa, 69, of La Porte, and a 61-year-old man, were targeted in a shooting attack near mile marker 114. All three individuals were wearing clothing and insignia indicating their affiliation with an outlaw motorcycle gang.
Cole and Sosa were pronounced dead at the scene, while the third rider was airlifted to Memorial Hermann in the Texas Medical Center for treatment.
Earlier that day, two other motorcyclists affiliated with the same gang were shot in separate incidents in Montgomery County. The first shooting occurred at 11:08 a.m. on the feeder road in the 25000 block of I-45, where a 32-year-old man was shot and later succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital. Another motorcyclist suffered non-life-threatening injuries and managed to flee the scene before being taken to a nearby hospital.
Authorities believe these attacks were targeted and possibly linked to rival outlaw motorcycle gangs. The Huntsville Police Department acknowledged a potential connection between these shootings and a violent incident reported in the Oklahoma City area involving outlaw motorcycle gangs on April 1, 2023. Detectives coordinated with investigators in Oklahoma City to determine if the two incidents are related.
As of the latest available information, the identities of the gunmen involved in these attacks have not been released, and no arrests have been reported. The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office stated that the events were a targeted attack between two rival gangs and assured the public that the general population was not an intended target. Local, state, and federal partners continue to work together to ensure public safety and investigate these incidents.
