Posted on 11/05/2005 8:36:08 AM PST by Ninian Dryhope
4 others nabbed in joint raid by FBI and HPD
Two gunmen suspected of being gang members were killed and two others wounded Thursday night after a shootout during an anti-gang police raid on a house in northeast Houston, authorities said.
The raid was part of a joint FBI and Houston police "MS-13" initiative designed to curb the well-known gang's criminal activities in the city, specifically home invasions and other violence, said FBI spokesman Al Tribble.
An ongoing investigation led authorities to the address in the 5700 block of Liberty at Easy on Thursday, Tribble said.
About 11:30 p.m., authorities saw six men approach the single-family house, Tribble said.
Five of the men entered the home and began shooting, he added, while the sixth remained outside.
"They stormed the house with their guns drawn and fired," Tribble said.
FBI agents responded immediately, telling the gunmen to drop their weapons, Tribble said. They did not comply.
"When they were confronted, they turned their gunfire on FBI agents," he said.
One of the men was carrying an AK-47 assault rifle, Tribble said. The others had handguns.
The agents, members of an FBI SWAT team, fatally shot two of the gunmen and wounded two others.
The other two gunmen were taken into custody at the scene with no injuries.
No law-enforcement personnel were injured, he said.
Tribble would not say how many people were in the house before the shootout began.
It was not clear Friday whether the gunmen were members of MS-13, a gang known for "extreme violence" that originated in Los Angeles in the 1980s and spread to many major U.S. cities, Tribble said.
One gunman who denied being a gang member had a 13 with three dots tattooed on his hand, Tribble said.
Questions remain The tattoo is thought to be gang insignia, but Tribble said it may not be the mark of MS-13, as its members usually tattoo themselves with "MS-13" or the gang's full name, Mara Salvatrucha.
"We're still trying to really verify who they are identity-wise and their gang affiliation," Tribble said.
The gunmen's motive for storming the house Thursday night is being investigated, Tribble said.
An FBI evidence team was at the scene Friday morning.
Houston Police Department officers were present but not involved in the shooting, he said.
The identities of the deceased were not immediately released by the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office. Tribble said all six men were in their early to mid-20s.
Only 2?
Two down, ten thousand to go.
Somebody send this to Chirac
Simple mathematics....these scum exist because they are permitted to live............
Illegals?
"An ongoing investigation led authorities to the address in the 5700 block of Liberty at Easy on Thursday, Tribble said.--About 11:30 p.m., authorities saw six men approach the single-family house, Tribble said. "
Sounds like the gang has been compromised by an informant.
You beat me to it. Heck, send a whole division of SWAT teams to France.
ping
MS-13 ping.
We would hope that this report is just a mistake that got out.......and swat teams everywhere are killing these thugs on a daily basis....very quietly.....under the radar screen as they say. It would be a shame that any MS-13 member get into our "justice system".
MS-13 gang tatoos are well known. They should be shot on sight.
uhhh...no....gang members...regardless of their country of origin or immigrant status
Agreed but they let to many live.
If we'd just do this routinely in all gang infested neighborhoods the problem with gangs would go away.
But the pansy a$$ leftists value freedom for felons over freedom for citizens.
And what do you propose we do when France surrendered to the SWAT team ?
"Only 2?"
Yes, but they did wound two more and with any luck, those wounds will prove fatal.
I guess we'd have to eat a lot of cheese and drink a lot of wine and impregnate all the French women with good American babies.
Then "we'd kill all their leaders and convert them to Christianity" and Green Bay Packer fans and make em wear big cheese wedges on their heads!
NO!
Never again should a single American life be risked to save France!
Why should we do for them what they lack the spine to do for themselves?
Housekeeping: cleanup on aisle MS-13...
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