Houston Police Department investigators reported a 23-year-old man was shot and killed Tuesday when he tried to rob a local food truck specializing in soul food.
The violent encounter occurred just after 2 p.m. in the parking lot where the food truck was located off South Main Street in southwest Houston.
Elite Eats and Cold Treats was founded in 2020 by Keshondra Howard Turner and her family, and the truck has been a staple in the parking lot for the three years since. The 53-year-old Turner is the cook stationed behind the counter.
Another family member, Jacqueline Mitchell, described the fare served by the truck as “ox tail, and we’ve got good hamburgers, pork chops, wings. People come from all over to eat here.”
According to police, in the middle of the day Tuesday someone showed up with something other than food on their mind. What they got was more than they bargained for.
Houston PD Lt. Bryan Bui said that a man pulled up to the Elite Eats truck and asked what they served. Turner showed him a list of food items, but it was then that he allegedly brandished a firearm and exited his truck. Naturally, Turner backed away and was able to close the window, but that did not stop the assault.
Turner, who was armed and prepared, had no such issue. The grandmother then reportedly shot her attacker several times, and he collapsed about 50 feet away from the truck. Officials pronounced the alleged attempted robber dead at the scene.
Family members said the truck had only taken in $40 at the time of the attempted robbery.
Investigators said that nothing was taken from the truck, and they are looking for possible surveillance video. They also confirmed that Turner was legally licensed to carry her firearm.
Turner’s son, Derick Howard, said that his mother had no choice but to defend herself. “My momma is a great person, you know? Good-hearted, looking out for everybody. She’d give the shirt off her back.” He told reporters that he hoped his mother was okay because the incident was not like her.
Police said Turner suffered a panic attack after the violent incident and was taken to a local hospital. Her family told reporters that they hope she will soon return to the business. As Howard said, his mother is “a Godly woman, that’s why the gun jammed because God jammed it.”
Mitchell said afterwards that “people need to get a job instead of trying to rob people, because some people are trying to make an honest living.”
HPD is calling the incident a case of self-defense, and no one has been charged. Investigators will continue to collect evidence and it will be turned over to the district attorney’s office.
For the paltry sum of $40, a young man was willing to shoot and kill a grandmother. He miscalculated, however, and an armed and courageous businesswoman defended herself with deadly force when she was violently attacked.
As her family members related after the frightening encounter, these are the times we live in. The food truck had done business in that Houston location for three years without anything similar occurring, but that was still no reason to let their guard down.
And she didn’t.
Because of that, Turner will continue serving her food to members of the community, and the family business will survive. As her son said, it was not in her nature. But she was prepared anyway, and her family did not lose a treasured loved one.
