HOUSTON — A helicopter crashed into a radio tower, killing multiple, including a child, near downtown Houston Sunday night, according to the Houston Fire Department.

HFD received a report around 7:55 p.m. of the crash near Engelke Street near Ennis Street and Navigation Boulevard, causing the fire to break out.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire, HFD Chief Thomas Muñoz, HPD Chief Noe Diaz and DPS gathered for a news conference following the crash. Mayor Whitmire said the Houston Fire Department was there within minutes.

“We got a fire station, 17, one of our major stations a block away,” he said. “They heard the explosion and responded. First ones on the scene were Houston fire to secured the area, make sure considerations for electricity, gas  and other provisions were taken care of. “

Officials confirmed all four people on the helicopter, including a child, died in the crash. Their names and ages have not been released. According to Chief Diaz, family members haven’t been notified yet.  

The helicopter was an R44 private aircraft coming from Ellington. At this point, it’s not clear where the helicopter was going.  

No outside structures were damaged. According to officials, the fire burned about 100 to 200 yards of grass near the site of the radio tower.

The fire was put out and there’s no threat to the community.

Officials are asking residents that if they see components of an aircraft, don’t touch them and call 911.

A witness told KHOU 11 News he was with some people at a restaurant nearby when they heard the crash. He said it sounded like fireworks or gunshots at first. He ran to try and help. When he got closer to the scene, he saw flames and big chunks of metal nearby homes. He originally thought it was a crane that had been hit.

“I didn’t know if it was a chemical explosion or if there was, I don’t know what had happened,” said Eric Haney, who lives nearby. “So my immediate thought was just to get in my car and evacuate.”

The Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, HFD and HPD are investigating the crash.

Per an FAA NOTAM, the lights on the radio tower were reported as inoperable on Oct. 16.

Watch the full update from officials below:

PHOENIX — A Valley woman is glad she was in the backyard with her small dog when a bobcat came and tried to take it away.

The six-pound Chihuahua, named Larry ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald, is now recovering.

“I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly,” Shannon Lucas said. 

Shannon Lucas said she was waiting as Fitzy was using the bathroom in the backyard of their Ahwatukee Foothills home when it happened. 

“Out of the corner of my eye, I see this bobcat come after him,” Shannon Lucas recalls. “He squeals very loud, I like shriek, ‘No!'” 

The marks are still on Fitzy’s neck. 

“Thankfully he let him go and ran up there,” Shannon Lucas said of the bobcat pointing to the top of the backyard fence. “He or she sat like on the fence for a few minutes afterward and was just watching us.” 

Shannon Lucas’ husband, Kurt Lucas, heard it all from inside the house and he ran outside, using a long broomstick he normally uses to kill scorpions to try and move the bobcat away. 

“I chased it to the wall,” Kurt Lucas said. “Didn’t really move at first and then I got closer and smacked the tree next to it and it took off again.” 

The visit is the most eventful of bobcat sightings at the couple’s home but it’s not the first. 

Videos taken by Kurt Lucas show bobcats walking along the top of the backyard fence on separate occasions. 

The Arizona Game and Fish Department said bobcats can be fairly common in the Valley and recommended doing what Shannon Lucas did, staying outside with small pets or building them a run that protects them from the top and sides, and hazing the bobcats when they come through. 

“I see people using those air horns – so loud noises, spraying them with water, that usually can do the trick of they’re not going to want to come around,” Alexandra Flickinger with AZGFD said. 

The bobcat’s presence is a concern for Shannon Lucas as the couple also has twin toddlers. Still, she wants others to be aware of the bobcats for their pets’ safety. 

“It came so fast, happened so quickly, like he didn’t have a chance,” Shannon Lucas said of the attack on Fitzy. “Thankfully I was there.” 

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