The Houston Police Department announced in a statement released on Monday, May 13, that a food delivery driver had been attacked by a customer-turned-attempted robber while trying to deliver food after midnight on Sunday morning, and fought off the attacker with deadly results. It was not reported for which restaurant or delivery service the delivery driver was working, though the incident apparently occurred at the city’s Park Yellowstone Apartment Homes complex.
Beginning the statement, the Houston Police Department noted that the case will be referred to a grand jury, saying, “The fatal shooting of a male robbery suspect at 3322 Yellowstone Boulevard about 12:25 a.m. on Sunday (May 12) will be referred to a Harris County grand jury.” Though the shooting appears justified, referring self-defense cases to grand juries is a common practice in Texas so that justified shootings can be resolved without fears of future indictments.
In any case, the statement continued, providing that the delivery driver had not been injured in the incident and that the identity of the deceased suspected attempted robber was under investigation, noting, “The identity of the deceased suspect is pending verification by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. The male shooter was not injured.”
The police then described what appears to have happened in the incident, saying, “HPD Homicide Division Sergeant M. Holbrook and Detective R. Lujan reported: A male was making a food delivery to the above address when he was confronted by a male suspect, who pointed a gun at him and demanded his cash. Fearing for his life, the male pulled out his gun and fatally shot the suspect. The male remained at the scene and provided a statement to responding officers.”
Continuing after describing the incident, the police again noted that the case would be referred to a jury and described how the incident is being investigated, providing, “The Harris County District Attorney’s Office was contacted and it was determined the shooting would be referred to a Harris County grand jury. Homicide detectives are seeking a second male suspect, who took the male’s backpack as the first suspect held him at gunpoint. He is described only as a black male wearing a white hoodie.”
Concluding, the statement asked the public for help in identifying the second suspect, stating, “Anyone with information on the identity of the second suspect or in this case is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or speak anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.”
Watch Sergeant Mark Holbrook of the Houston Police Department, one of the officers whose report was included in the department’s report, describe the incident here when speaking with local media outlet KHOU 11 about what happened:
This incident comes as part of a long string of deadly shootings and confrontations in Houston, which is one of the more crime-ridden large cities in Texas. In fact, violent crime is shockingly common on Houston, despite Texas generally having competent leadership, with 57 violent crimes per thousand residents, making it one of the highest crime rate cities in the United States.
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