Background: The scene in Houston, Texas on Sept. 4, the night Quoc “Jake” Nguyen was found dead (KHOU). Inset: Quoc “Jake” Nguyen (GoFundMe).
Police in Texas are seeking the public”s help in identifying the suspect they said shot a Marine veteran and left him for dead.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Department announced in a press release that 28-year-old Quoc “Jake” Nguyen was discovered deceased on Thursday night. Patrol units were dispatched around 11:00 p.m. after receiving reports about an unresponsive man, later identified as Nguyen, found on the side of a suburban road in Houston, Texas. Initially, the police suspected an “auto-pedestrian accident”; however, further investigation confirmed that Nguyen had been shot. According to local NBC affiliate KPRC, a bystander called 911 and tried CPR to save Nguyen, but tragically, he was declared dead at the scene.
Now, a homicide investigation is underway, and Harris County detectives are looking to the public for possible leads.
Sgt. Jason Brown from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office conveyed to CBS affiliate KHOU that detectives were examining surveillance footage from the vicinity. Once informed of Nguyen’s passing, his family revealed further information about him, including his previous service with the U.S. Marines and his work as an Uber driver.
The investigators indicated to KPRC that Nguyen was inside his car when he departed an apartment complex. The vehicle subsequently crashed, and it is believed the suspect removed Nguyen from the car and left him on the roadside before fleeing in Nguyen’s vehicle.
Nguyen’s family set up a GoFundMe page, where his siblings described him as “unarmed and defenseless” at the time of his death, emphasizing the financial hardship his loss brings to the family. They stated, “Our family will remember him as a hero in many ways.”
Investigators from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office are actively seeking information that could help locate the suspect responsible for Nguyen’s murder. They encourage anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 713-222-TIPS.
