This is the time when law-abiding citizens are at their most defenseless, in bed in the dark and hardly expecting to be awakened by a violent criminal. But that’s what happened early Saturday morning on a weekend that saw the Texas city racked by a surge of violence.
At around 3:30 a.m., the homeowner was alerted by his Ring camera system that a pair of burglars were trying to enter his garage. What he saw was two individuals walking into the garage wearing backpacks, and shortly afterwards they attempted to walk away with a box of tools.
The alert resident armed himself and confronted the strangers, ordering them to leave his property.
One of the intruders opened fire instead.
A bullet struck the unidentified homeowner in the leg, and he then returned fire. The Houston Police Department reported that he struck one of the criminals with several shots.
Investigators found that the now-injured burglar attempted to flee through a broken fence but was located shortly after in a nearby stairwell. Emergency personnel treated his injuries, and he was transported to the hospital, but he did not survive.
Neighbors remain on high alert as the second suspect was not apprehended. “The other suspect, he must have left with a gun because we can’t find the other weapon,” Lt. R. Willkens reported. “And he did leave on foot. We have a decent video we’re working with.”
Interviewed by ABC13, the homeowner explained with tears in his eyes that he did not intend to kill anyone. However, he was forced into the position of having to defend his life and property.
The intended victim wishes to remain anonymous. He is reportedly recuperating at an area hospital and cooperating with the investigation.
It was a turbulent weekend in Houston, which tallied at least 17 separate shootings between Friday and Sunday. These incidents resulted in at least nine deaths and 17 injuries.
Despite the spike in violence, Police Chief Troy Finner said that crime is down.
One of the Houston homeowner’s neighbors disputed this statement. Scott Morgan flatly declared, “It’s not true. You hear gunshots all the time. We have a Ring camera. It goes off all the time. ‘Did you hear the gunshots over here?’ ‘Over there?’”
According to ABC13’s tracking information, violent crime is lower in 90 of 111 police precincts over the last year in comparison to the average over the last four years. In 45 of the police beats, it is off by over 10%.
Robberies and burglaries, such as the one experienced by the fortunate homeowner on Saturday morning, are also down. Houston averaged 276 burglaries per week over the past 12 months, which seems like a staggering number. However, as recently as 2019 that tally was 325 a week.
As for robberies, the average fell from 177 per week in 2019 to 132 currently.
Statistics are just numbers, however, when a person becomes the victim of a violent crime. It will be tough to convince this man and his neighbors that criminal behavior is diminishing in the area when he is in the hospital recovering from being shot by an alleged burglar.
As is said often but bears repeating, there is no substitute for being prepared.
The homeowner had a camera set up to alert him to an intrusion, and he was also armed. Had he confronted the burglars without a weapon, the night likely would have ended far differently.
But he is alive today to tell the tale, and we wish him a speedy recovery. His story is another prime example of the power of the Second Amendment to protect Americans in their time of desperate need.
