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Acres Homes community concerned about rise in violence
Elders and community leaders have growing concern for the violent shootings that took place as of late.
HOUSTON - Four people were shot in three different shootings in Acres Homes last night, but one grandmother in the area says gunshots are becoming much too common.
The 63-year-old says there have been gunshots outside her house every week for more than a month now. In fact, just last week one bullet didn’t stay outside.
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"Look how it came through here," Cynthia points out the bullet hole.
It was the day after Christmas when Cynthia and her family again heard gunshots.
"It was like a big boom and my daughter said, 'Everybody, get down.'" Little Lillian, Cynthia’s 11-year-old granddaughter, was in the kitchen when a bullet blasted through the window and continued through four walls in their home.
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"It’s scary when you’re just a kid and you have to experience that," Lillian says. "If she had just stood up a second it would have killed her," adds Cynthia.
"I called 911. I was breathing hard. I have asthma and plus I was scared. I had to calm down my sister because she was just, she was going crazy and she started crying," Lillian explains.
"It’s just indescribable. It’s just like a nightmare," says Cynthia.
At 2:30 Sunday afternoon, Cynthia was visiting her 91-year-old neighbor when the latest gunfire erupted. "It was 16 shots. 16. It felt like it was right there with us." The ladies had to dive to the floor to safety, including the 91-year-old.
That shooting on W. Little York at DePriest left two vehicles wrecked, one person shot, and a slew of detectives trying to figure out why.
An hour later and just blocks away, "one individual was shot and later pronounced deceased at the hospital. It’s still being investigated whether these two scenes are connected," explains HPD Sgt. John Stroble. A half-hour after that, another shooting occurred where "at least two individuals were shot," says Sgt. Stroble.
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"I feel like I’m living in a war zone," says Cynthia. "I don’t think it’s fair. I don’t think it’s appropriate. I don’t think it’s humane for our elders to have to feel like prisoners in their own homes," says Civil Rights Activist Deric Muhammed who is standing with the family, calling for change, including doing something about the crime occurring outside a nearby convenience store. "Havens for drug use and drug sales and things of that nature they have to be done away with unapologetically so our children and our elders and our families can live in peace.
"I want more police protection. I want my community back. I have lived in this community all my life, all my life," says Cynthia.
No one has been arrested for the latest shootings, including the gunfire that left bullet holes inside the family’s home.
"I share this grandmother’s concern … It’s been an incredibly tough span but I can tell you we’re working closely with our DA’s Office … as we catch these shooters to try to get them held accountable. We’re going to do our very best to stem this recent uptick," says Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo.