In Harris County, Texas, the last words that a would-be home invader heard were, “Please don’t hurt the girls.” That would have been the right time to leave, but one home intruder had to learn the hard way.
The shootout in Harris County, Texas, was first reported by KHOU 11 before being picked up by The Blaze, after a home invasion in the 23000 block of Botkins Road in the Hockley area provided the perfect argument for having firearms to protect your family.
It all began when an unnamed grandmother, cooking breakfast in her kitchen in the early morning hours, was greeted by three armed masked men who broke into the home. In the kitchen with her three young granddaughters, there was no time to pick up the phone and dial 911 as the masked men pointed guns at the grandmother and the girls in the kitchen.
Luckily, they weren’t home alone. There were 3 other family members as well as an employee of the family’s construction business in the residence at the time of the home invasion. All 8 of them would be saved thanks to one of the family members who decided to arm himself.
The woman’s adult son was in his bedroom when he heard the commotion. He woke up and grabbed his gun, readying himself to confront the suspects. “When he heard ‘please don’t hurt the girls,’ that’s when he took action,” deputies said, according to KHOU. He wasted no time protecting his family as he shot at the intruders.
“They were basically at a standoff, and he discharged first,” Sgt. Felipe Rivera with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office explained. He added, “One of the suspects did fire inside the residence,” but the would-be robber was unsuccessful in his shot. The son, however, hit one of his targets.
When authorities arrived, two suspects had fled the residence in a car that was reportedly seen speeding off out of the neighborhood, but the third suspect didn’t fare so well. He was dead at the scene, shot to death by the woman’s son.
Neighbors, who were afraid to show their faces on TV, said that they heard the “voices speaking Spanish” in the home and the exchange of gunfire. They also said this is the first time they can remember a home invasion or burglary in their neighborhood.
Deputies did not provide the media with details or a description of the suspects, only saying that they were speaking Spanish as they entered the home. None of the eight family members were hurt in the incident, and the son, who made that a reality, was not charged with a crime for protecting his family. Investigators were trying to determine why the family, who owns their own construction business, was a target.
They say when seconds count, the police are only minutes away, and it’s true. The average response time for Harris County is 5 to 8 minutes. According to the Women’s Self Defense Institute, Nashville, Tennessee, actually came in at the worst spot with a 12 minutes response time. A lot can happen in 5 minutes, let alone 12, when you are facing an armed criminal who is intent on doing harm. Keeping all of this in mind, the average interaction between a criminal and his/her victim is only about 90 seconds.
This means that by the time cops do arrive, the criminal is long gone, having committed the crime undeterred by law enforcement — unless someone else who is present is prepared to stop them like this son was. Had the son not been armed and prepared to protect his family, this situation could have been much, much worse. There were eight potential victims whose lives were on the line, facing three armed intruders. The odds certainly weren’t looking good. However, all eight family members are fine thanks to one courageous son.
