Young Couple Shot at Local Park

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- There is a search for answers after a young couple was shot at a north Houston park. The husband is dead and the wife is fighting for her life in the hospital.

The victims were shot last night at McCullough Park. Early reports indicate they may have known their attacker.

James Smith, Jr., 19, along with his wife of only five months were both shot multiple times. Smith was dead and his wife, Yiasha Wilson, 17, was barely breathing.

So far, investigators say few people heard the gunfire. All they know at this time is that the victims were sitting at the picnic table when someone walked up and started firing.

Smith's mother, Renae Arterberry, says the couple's three-year-old son is a spitting image of his father , a man he'll never get to know.

"My son looked out for people. That is what he did," said Arterberry.
It's an act of kindness friends say they wish they could have repaid around midnight.

"He is loved over here," said Kesha Shaw, friend of one of the victims. "Why would they want to hurt him and his wife?"

With no witnesses, the investigation turned to those who know Smith. The current theory is that the shooter could possibly be someone Smith called a friend. If that is the case, Arterberry says it is the ultimate betrayal.

"He didn't deserve that. He deserves for someone to tell the truth. That's what he deserves, and that is what I am going to get done," she said.

But first, she has to explain to a three-year-old that his father is never going to pick him up.

Family members believe that Smith was killed out of jealousy. He and his wife just recently moved in with his mother to be closer to the TSU campus, where Wilson was planning to attend classes.

Wilson is listed in critical condition. She is currently paralyzed on her right side after the bullets caused some spinal damage.

If you have any information in this case, you're asked to call Houston police.