A Houston, Texas, grandmother is a part-owner and operator of a food truck. When she was working in that food truck on Tuesday, she used her pistol, which she was licensed to carry, to shoot and kill an alleged robber who targeted her truck.
News on that incident comes from ABC 13, which reports that a man named Derick Howard and his mother jointly own a food truck called Elite Eats and Cold Treats. When he arrived at the food truck on Tuesday afternoon, he discovered that his mom had had to use deadly force to defend herself and her truck from an armed robber.
KHOU 11, reporting on the incident itself, says:
Keshondra Howard Turner’s family owns the truck, which has been operating in the parking lot off South Main at Fondren for about three years. Turner, 53, is the cook behind the counter of the soul food truck. She and her family started Elite Eats in 2020.
[…]According to HPD Lt. Bryan Bui, a man pulled up to the food truck Tuesday around 1 p.m. and asked what they served. When Turner showed him, the man pulled out a gun and got out of his truck, Bui said.
She was able to close the window, but the man opened it back up and put his arm inside the food truck while pointing the gun at her. That’s when, according to Bui, the suspect tried to shoot but his gun jammed.
Turner then shot the man several times, police said. He collapsed about 50 feet away from the truck, authorities said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police say this southwest Houston grandmother was cooking in her food truck this afternoon when a man pulled up with a gun demanding cash. They say she grabbed her gun and killed the suspect in self defense. #KHOU11 https://t.co/wMeiKInvse pic.twitter.com/sN99YsZUvw
— Matt Dougherty (@MattKHOU) March 28, 2023
Her son, Derrick Howard, said, “My momma is a great person, you know? Good-hearted, looking out for everybody. She’d give the shirt off her back. I hope she’s alright because I know right now she’s going crazy because that’s not even (like) her. She’s a Godly woman, that’s why the gun jammed because God jammed it.”
The Houston Police Department, tweeting about the incident when it occurred, said, “Homicide detectives are en route to 14500 block of Main Street after a male was fatally shot about 1 p.m. Prelim info is the male was attempting to rob a food truck at the location. No other info as the investigation is on-going.”
Watch KHOU 11’s video report on the incident here:
HPD officials added that Ms. Turner had a panic attack after the attempted robbery and shooting. Because of that panic attack, she had to be taken to an area hospital for treatment. Fortunately, she was otherwise unharmed during the attack.
Featured image credit: screenshot from the embedded YouTube video
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