Muslim LGBTQIA+ activist, smoke shop owner seeks justice after burglars steal $5,000 worth of merchandise
(Photo courtesy of Erum Rani)
HOUSTON - A local business owner needs your help finding the suspects responsible for breaking into her smoke shop and stealing several items worth about $5,000.
According to Erum Rani, the owner of Galaxy Haze Smoke, located in the Sharpstown Plaza on Bellaire Blvd, she was awakened by a phone call by her landlord early Thursday morning that her place of business was burglarized.
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"I walked in to see everything on the floor on the other side of the counter," Rani said in an email interview.
(Photo courtesy of Erum Rani)
The Muslim LGBTQIA+ activist tells FOX 26 she’s owned the shop for about a year and has never experienced anything of this caliber.
Photos from the incident, which she shared with us, show the store was ransacked and several pieces of merchandise were taken including hookah pipes and disposable vapes; all worth nearly $5,000.
Rani says the store will operate as usual, despite the horrific experience.
"At the moment I am just puzzled and mentally exhausted from all this," she said. "I will continue to run the shop though."
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Currently, she has received surveillance footage from neighboring stores and provided that for the Houston Police Department. In that video, two men are seen breaking into the shop after using a rock to smash the window on the side of the door before taking off in what appears to be a Gold Lexus.
(Photo courtesy of Erum Rani)
"Just help us find the thieves and bring them to justice - that’s all," Rani pleaded. "I hope no other business owner goes through this like I have."
FOX 26 has reached out to HPD for comment as well as the Muslim and the LGBTQIA+ Community Liasion for a statement, but have not heard back, as of this writing.
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If you have any information on the suspects involved, you’re encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.