Arizona -(Ammoland.com)- On January 19th, 2019, at about one a.m. in the morning, a gunfight occurred on Sherman Street in Houston, Texas. It was in the Magnolia Park neighborhood.
Magnolia Park has been a traditionally ethnic Mexican part of Houston for over 100 years. It is considered a bit rough. There were five home invaders. There was one home defender. From abc13.com:
Authorities are investigating after dozens of shots were fired in east Houston.
According to a detective, the incident began as a home invasion at the 7000 block of Sherman.
Authorities say the homeowner defended himself when the suspects entered the home. Following the shooting, the suspects fled from the scene.
Two armed home invaders broke in. One of the home invaders was reported as shot in the leg and running from the house. He survived. One home invader died in the front yard. Another person, believed to be one of the home invaders, was found dead in a car two blocks from the scene. A fourth suspect ended up in the hospital and died there. The fifth suspect was wounded, fled the scene, and was being treated in the hospital.
The homeowner gave an interview to Stefania Okolie, reporting from abc13.com. The interview is only on video. I did not see a transcript.
The defender was 20 years old. According to him, two men in ski masks broke in, demanding money. At first, he thought it was a joke. This sort of denial is common among crime victims. The other three home invaders had not entered the house. The defender said he used a pretext of getting money from under the couch. Instead of money, he pulled out a loaded AK-47 clone.
He shot at the two home invaders. They fired back as they fled. He wounded both of them. One died in the front yard, the other, wounded in the leg, fled, and is in the hospital.
The defender pursued the invaders into the front yard. The pile of brass in the front yard has been described as being from several different guns.
The defender continued the gunfight with three car occupants that delivered the two home invaders. The group fled the scene in the car.
The car crashed a couple of blocks away. One suspect was found in the car, dead. One wounded suspect was found at Capitol and 71st Street, he was the suspect that died at the hospital. The third suspect from the car was wounded, fled the scene, and was being treated in the hospital.
According to Sefania Okolie, the police told the homeowner he had done the right thing.
There were no charges filed against the defender. He was not wounded. There were no reports of contraband being discovered at the shooting scene.
Jeff Cooper, in his small book, Principles of Personal Defense, emphasizes seven keys to survival in self-defense situations:
- Alertness
- Decisiveness
- Aggressiveness
- Speed
- Coolness
- Ruthlessness
- Surprise
In the gunfight in Houston, the defender demonstrated six of the seven. He may be faulted for being insufficiently alert. At first, he thought it was a joke.
Once he understood the situation, he acted decisively and aggressively, with speed, coolness, and ruthlessness. He even surprised his attackers after they initially had the drop on him.
In the infamous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, in Tombstone, Arizona, in 1881, nine people were involved. Four on one side, five on the other. Two on one side were wounded. Three on the other side were killed. Doc Holliday, on the side of the Earps, was grazed.
In the Houston gunfight on Sherman Street, six people were involved. Five on one side, one on the other.
Three of the aggressors were killed. Two were wounded. The defender was not injured.
In the Old West, the Houston Sherman Street gunfight would have been discussed around campfires for decades.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer and a military officer was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has meteorology and mining engineering degrees and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30-year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.