"Active" Shooting In My Patrol District. (Not During My Shift.)

[Rex G]

Two mornings ago, on Saturday, I stayed a bit late at work, talking to a day-shift sergeant, about the likelihood of an active shooter event in our division's area. As our discussion involved policies and staffing, I cannot say more here, except to say that he predicted we would soon have a critical incident incident, and I agreed. This morning, well, "it" happened. At about 0629 Hours, a lone male, apparently a lawyer, perhaps experiencing some kind of melt-down, while operating a Porsche Boxter, and perhaps also while on foot, armed with multiple firearms, fired at multiple motorists on and near Law Street, a residential street, in an upscale area to the immediate north of Weslayan Plaza. He apparently targeted random motorists, although the reason for his presence in these particular blocks of Law Street may well not be so random. Six people were transported to area hospitals, one critical. Several more were treated at the scene for injuries caused by shattering auto glass.

Officers with the police departments of Houston, West University, Southside Place, and Bellaire responded. The shooter engaged police with gunfire, and was subsequently shot by police.

Several blocks of of Law Street form a border between Houston and West University, with the homes on the south side being in West U, and homes on the north side being in Houston. Weslayan Plaza is within Houston. West U, Southside Place, and Bellaire are adjacent small cities surounded by Houston's sprawl.

I missed the action, as my shift is 2200-0600, and I had burned personal hours the previous night, anyway. It is possible I will receive a phone call, to report for duty, but HPD will usually re-deploy on-duty units from other patrol districts, rather than call-in personnel who are off the clock. If enough of my day-shift colleagues discharged their weapons, and will therefore be on administrative leave for a few days, I may have to work some OT starting tomorrow.

I live in Bellaire. Had I been standing outside my home, I might have been able to hear the rifles being fired. I work for the much larger Houston PD.

Yes, I patrol an upscale area, though Houston being so diverse, my patrol district still includes some few "shotgun shacks." Wealthy folks can be quite difficult to police.

[KeeFus]

Yes, I patrol an upscale area, though Houston being so diverse, my patrol district still includes some few "shotgun shacks." Wealthy folks can be quite difficult to police.

Yes...yes they can. Spoiled bunch of fuckers aren't they?

[Rex G]

Yes...yes they can. Spoiled bunch of fuckers aren't they?

Yes, some of them are, indeed, very special people. Bless their hearts.

[rojocorsa]

A "shotgun shack?"

[Drang]

A "shotgun shack?"

a narrow rectangular domestic residence, usually no more than about 12 feet (3.5 m) wide, with rooms arranged one behind the other and doors at each end of the house... (by analogy to compartments in passenger rail cars).

[Peally]

AKA a shitty trailer.

[Rex G]

A shotgun shack is a narrow house, with a hallway that follows a straight path from front door to back door. This hallway usually runs along one side of the structure, while the rooms are along the other side, opening into this hallway. The "shotgun" part has been attributed to this uninterrupted hallway being like a shotgun barrel, and also attributed to the ability to fire a shotgun straight-through the length of the entire house.

The front room is the living room, the next one or two rooms are bedrooms, and the kitchen is in the back. Bathrooms were not necessarily an original part of the design, and are often seen as additions onto the structure, or built into one of the original rooms. The simplest shotgun shacks do not even have doorways leading to the hallway, being partially or totally open into the hallway.

Some shotgun shacks are actually better-built than many of today's McMansions, with real solid wood, and decent craftsmanship. The typical floor is beautiful hardwood, not toxic Chinese laminate over horrible OSB, as found in today's housing. With proper maintenance, they seem to last quite well. Poor folks do not always prioritize maintenance of their rented homes, of course, and landlords who typically own these properties often do not care, either. (Maintenance is so very vital along the humid Gulf Coast.)

Perhaps I will build myself a shotgun house, someday. :-)

[hufnagel]

I'm curious, from an educational standpoint, as to how the wealthy are being difficult. Gated properties? Denying access?

[Rex G]

I'm curious, from an educational standpoint, as to how the wealthy are being difficult. Gated properties? Denying access?

This could be the subject of a thick book! In short, wealth is power. A few particulars, in no specific order:

1. Rich folks really do always seem to know somebody in high political places.

2. Rich folks look down on mere "hired help," and yes, anyone wearing a badge and blue is seen as hired help.

3. Rich folks who get themselves arrested can afford the high-dollar lawyers, who know how to work behind-the-scenes deals.

4. Rich folks have a collective feeling of entitlement. This one could be a fairly thick book, on its own.

5. Rich folks can become highly and crazingly intoxicated, just like poor folks, and take just as much force to subdue, but later, in a hearing, or at a deposition, their account of the incident is often taken as being perfectly credible.

6. Some police officers, with rank, allow themselves to be owned by influential folks. This is related to #1, above.

These are just a half-dozen factors. I could probably think of more, but am a bit tired.

[Gadfly]

I had a warrant to serve on Weslayan this morning. Totally unrelated to the incident. But You HPD guys had that street locked down! we did some back road work arounds and got to our targets apartment. Of course, by the time we got there he was not home...

Glad none of our guys got hurt!

Stay safe...