Widow recalls shootout inside car that killed husband in Houston

HOUSTON -- A Houston mother is reeling after her husband was shot and killed in north Houston while trying to protect her and the couple's young daughter.

It happened yesterday when an armed suspect tried to rob Erasmo Alaniz, 26, and his family in a parking lot in the 200 block of Aldine Bender Road and Imperial Valley.

Erasmo, his wife, Deana Precella, 29, and their 2-year-old daughter were pulling into a parking space in front of a Subway after watching the Texans game when an armed man opened the rear passenger door. Police say the suspect pointed a gun at Deana, and that's when Erasmo started shooting.

"He just pulled out a gun and told me I needed to stay there because he had one in the chamber," said Deana. "And so I stayed there and he started demanding for stuff."

Deana managed to slip out of the vehicle, but the young girl was in the entire time.

"My daughter was his world," she added. "His son meant a lot to him. He meant a lot to me. It's just hard."

Detectives say the gunman stumbled from the car and collapsed in the parking lot. Both he and Erasmo died. Despite the all that gunfire, somehow Deana and her daughter we're not harmed.

The suspect's identity hasn't been released. Police say a black male in a Dodge Charger drove away from the scene.