By Shawn Henry 
Another unauthorized car meetup ended the same way critics have warned it would for years: with gunfire, panic, and a teenager dead.
Houston police say the shooting happened around 1 a.m. Monday at the old Greenspoint Mall parking lot, a location already known to officers as a recurring hotspot for illegal meetups and reckless driving. The victim, described as being in his late teens, was attending the event with a friend when shots were fired. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
This was not a surprise. Police say the parking lot is routinely used for Sunday night meetups that draw large crowds and require repeated law enforcement responses. Officers are regularly dispatched to shut the events down, run participants off, and make arrests when possible. Despite that history, the gatherings continue. So did the violence.
Investigators say multiple people may have been shooting. Participants fled immediately, leaving police with no suspect descriptions and a chaotic crime scene. At least one vehicle was hit by gunfire, with a truck found riddled with five or six bullet holes. The damage underscores how easily this could have claimed more lives.
Authorities say the event, commonly referred to as Slab Sunday, often attracts more than 100 people and moves from location to location across the city. That mobility makes enforcement harder, but it also highlights a deeper failure. These meetups are widely known, repeatedly flagged, and openly dangerous. Yet they continue to be treated as a nuisance instead of a public safety threat.
The car culture branding around these events has long sold them as community gatherings or harmless enthusiasm. That image collapses when gunfire erupts in crowded parking lots filled with young people and vehicles. Reckless driving complaints, repeated police responses, and now a homicide all point to ignored warning signs.
Houston police are asking for help from businesses for surveillance footage and urging anyone with information to come forward. But the larger issue goes beyond identifying a shooter. This death exposes what happens when unauthorized car meetups are allowed to operate unchecked, normalized by repetition, and dismissed until someone is killed.
A teenager lost his life in a place police already knew was dangerous. The industry, the culture, and the systems that kept letting these events slide are out of excuses. This was the moment where ignoring the problem stopped being an option.
John