Posted on 03/14/2006 12:58:24 PM PST by ARealMothersSonForever
Authorities said two victims were recovering from gunshot wounds after a shooting at an alleged immigrant smuggling house Tuesday morning.
The house was allegedly being used in an illegal immigrant smuggling operation. Houston police and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials responded to the scene at 9011 Sandpiper in southwest Houston around 9 a.m. after residents reported hearing gunshots in the neighborhood.
Two people were wounded, but police aren’t sure who shot them.
The victims were transported to Ben Taub and Memorial Herman Hospital. Their conditions aren’t known.
Police said a bullet broke through a window at a house across the street, but no one in that home was injured.
A woman who lives in a nearby house got quite a scare, as a number of bullets hit around her home. “I told my son to stay down because I kept hearing it hitting the house,” she said. “And I just didn’t know where and it was scary.”
Police recovered a weapon they said was a Chinese version of an AK47.
Investigators said the home was a drop house where illegal immigrants are brought when smuggled into the U.S. The house, like many drop houses, did not have furniture inside and the windows had been boarded up.
Investigators said the house has been used for smuggling in the past, but neighbors in the area seemed unaware of the criminal activity going on at the house until Tuesday morning’s incident.
Police saw six men jump out of a window and run away when they arrived on the scene, but those men were caught nearby.
At least one man fled the scene in an SUV and has not been located.
Officials took 21 other people into custody, but were not sure if the smugglers or the shooters were among those apprehended.
An immigrant on the scene told 11 News they had arrived at the house on Monday evening after paying $2,000 each to be brought to the U.S. from Mexico. The immigrant said there were around 50 immigrants in the home with four heavily armed men when he arrived.
Investigators said all of the immigrants taken into custody Tuesday were males from El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico and Guatemala.
Ronald Kahla has lived in his house down the street for 54 years and said his neighborhood is “going downhill, fast.”
“This used to be a beautiful little neighborhood,” he said. “Everybody knew everybody and all the kids played together. It was just a fun neighborhood, a nice garden club and everything. But now all that’s gone. It’s all changed.”
This article went from describing these men as "alleged immigrants" to "illegal immigrants" to just plain old "immigrants."
And then, of course, there was mention of the Chinese version of an AK47, which was probably also illegal.
(Pardon my rambling.)
so the fence is in houston not on the border
great place to get it guys shouls be stopped 350 miles before they get that far
plus...
"taken into custody Tuesday were males from El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico and Guatemala."
equals 3rd world $&i+hole and so it will continue to spread like the desease that it is. They must be stopped, identified and removed from this country. If not, this county is headed D-I-R-E-C-T-L-Y for a shooting war.
Operation Safety. We need an Operation Line, President Bush!
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off this South Texas/Mexico ping list.
Houston? Haven't we heard something about the local police there not enforcing Immigration Laws - that activists were filming day-worker sites?
Could it be that the law enforcement paradigm is shifting?
This underlines the great job done by CBP and ICE. Since it is local Houston Police that have to respond.
Just thought I'd stick that in bold for all the fence-sitters/OBLers who are lurking.
We had to move from our previously peaceful neighborhood in Orange California after 21 years for the same reason. We were being surrounded by Mexican colonias with all the mess they bring.
Yet our politicians want more and more of these types brought into this country.
We got out just in time - the house across the street from us (2600+ sq.ft.) sold as a rental. It's now home to about 20 people, with two huge "Bimbo" trucks parked there all the time, along with assorted other vehicles in various stages of disrepair.
The person we sold our house to, we have no idea, nor had we the right to ask, whether he was intending to live in it or use it as a rental.
Our agent told us that during one of our open houses, one prospective buyer actually measured the living room, and discussed converting it into TWO bedrooms!
Support our Minutemen Patriots!
Be Ever Vigilant!
I am so not surprised.
I noticed that as well. Being PC does that to writers. Causes them to go through several contortions until they finally pretzel their way to the 'correct' terminology. Talk about writer's cramp. :o)
They used their Katrina 2G cards to make bail!
bttt
Me neither.
Sad.
Will wonders never cease.
Perhaps one of the quislings would care to spin this one for us.
I wonder where LULAC is? Don't they get outraged about abuse of illegals?
Funny thing is, the RNC census document came in the mail today. Not even a mention of illegal immigration, or immigration reform. The only question that remotely touched on this was "Do you support the Presidents efforts to save Social Security for future generations?" I just know for sure they left "of Americans" off of the question by mistake. If anyone has the GIF of the Mexican Peso note, I need it. I will be d@mned if I even send them the $11.00 for "the cost of tabulating the survey". Party poll tax anyone?
I watched this happen to a whole small town here, the one I grew up in. It is like a fast moving cancer.
I printed a bunch of them and keep them handy for the RINO fundraising letters. Sorry I don't have the link. I believe that I do have it at work in a printable format if that will do. I can send you a PDF.
Houston is a Sanctuary City. There is an Immigration Lawyer on City Council, he pushes a lot of that garbage.
Thanks. If it does not get posted here, please feel free to Freepmail a PDF. On another note, I would think that 3 people getting shot and 21 or so getting rounded up (even for catch and release) would generate a little more attention. This must either be under spin review, or under file 13.
What happens to real cancers when people deny they have a problem?
local problem, nothing to see here, move along, just another isolated incident.
Ping
According to Tom Tancredo it is a big topic in Washington. They apparently don't want you to know that, though.
BTTT
BTTT
Even the Houston police are going to respond to a report of gunfire. They won't inquire during a routine traffic stop or anything other than an arrest on a separate charge, but it hasn't quite become a policy where illegal aliens are immune to arrest.
That being said, because I don't like to paint all people with the same brush, it is a disgrace what is going on with this immigration problem. The American people seem to be overwhelmingly in favor of closing down the border and perhaps repatriating as many as possible.
Washington does not seem to want to deal with the problem It has to be more than votes, although that is a part of it. I'm truly sorry for the posters who have had their neighborhoods ruined. We have more enclaves of illegals locally, but I don't know what the neighborhoods are like as they are off my beaten path. To some extent, we are shielded from the worst of it compared to California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and the big cities.
Part of me feels sorry for some of these people, especially the nicer ones who get caught up in it, but it is Mexico's problem, and why should they even attempt to clean up their act when it is so lucrative for them and easy to dump on us? It's win win for them.
I don't want to bleat on about it, but I personally believe we have passed the point of no return, and it is going to get very ugly at some unspecified time in the future. Some will wish they had never come here, and victims will wish likewise. It is a shame the way our leaders are committing national suicide on several fronts. That's pretty strong language, but that's the way I see it. Our economy simply cannot sustain the drain. I can't help but wonder if there is some diabolical plan to take our country down or if our leaders have their heads buried won't say where and are incapable of thinking cause and effect.
May I dare to say some of it is our arrogance? We believe we are invincible, all our powerful weapons, if not real money, plenty of monopoly money, far away from the countries that are getting creamed right now worse than we are, and it just won't happen to us. Everything will be all right. That is one big delusion as far as I am concerned, and I don't hate Mexicans or any other groups of people except the violent, criminal, and evil elements.
Go to the mall, take luxury vacations, run up your credit cards, build your luxury homes, buy your gas guzzlers (some people have had to dump theirs already), there are hundreds of new jobs, the economy is is good shape, the drug problem will go away in a magical poof, eat, drink and be merry, everything will be peachy keen.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane! I identify strongly with that time when America was still America, and I grew up in southern California. You wouldn't believe some of the towns here now. It's devastating to see.
I can well imagine. As a teenager in the 50's, we visited CA twice. The Sacramento neighborhood of the people we stayed with was the CA version of what I described, only there was a lovely-smelling gardenia bush (some people find them too strong); most of the houses were stucco in that area; ours were mostly wood and brick, and that awful permastone and fake brick siding they used to use.
Then in the 60's, I lived in Petaluma for about two years. It was a really nice, little town, large military presence, very different but again a CA version of nice, small town, small tract homes, a few larger ones, neatly kept, figs and avocados and other nice growing things. Actually Sacramento was much larger and Petaluma much smaller. Few, if any basements, however, perhaps due to earthquakes?
I was so afraid I wrote too much as I tend to do that sometimes. Glad you enjoyed it. I'm sure many people my age have similar memories and grew up in environments much like I did. Not everything was hunky dory all over the country then, of course. We were shielded from much of the ugliness in life, and there wasn't as much of it. Murders and major thefts were very rare. Now they are commonplace. Sometimes I'd like to see if the house is still standing and what it looks like now. If any Freeper gets to Petaluma and can snap a digital shot of 613 G Street, I'd be so grateful :-). I doubt I'll get back there and might be disappointed if I did.
My kids have been out there but didn't get any photos I know about. My daughter lived in Rohnert Park and Santa Rosa for awhile.
"It is like a fast moving cancer."
Excellent metaphor. And Texans are supposed to stand by and watch the cancer spread? I'm not surprised that someone may have taken the law into his own hands here.
President Bush--enough already! Protect the Americans along our border, and their property, from this unlawful invasion. Otherwise, vigilantism will become the order of the day.
Wow. God bless you....WHAT a powerful post.
I Googled the address...and it did come up. So THAT'S good...Beyond that, I can't help as I'm WAY too far south.
Here's hoping some kind soul will read this and help you further.
http://imageatlas.globexplorer.com/ImageAtlas/view.do
Not THAT good...but it's something..
Thanks for the links. Can't get the second one to work, but the first one does; I use yahoo maps a lot and never once thought to look that address up. There it is, so much of it doesn't look familiar now because I don't remember the streets, stores, too much about any of it. There was an old deserted chicken hatchery on the other side of G Street. I remember Petaluma Blvd, the main drag through the business district. I'll zoom it up and around tomorrow and see if I can find the route out to the station, think it was 8 miles out Bodega? Road.
I remember walking my baby toward downtown in her stroller one nice day, and the Hell's Angels came roaring through town. I stood and watched their antics transfixed, didn't feel too scared but wasn't sure what was up. They were showing off, revving around and around this intersection and finally left. Lots of people were like me, just standing there not knowing what to think.
You wrote a WONDERFUL story of your childhood!!! Please, if you ever go at it again, PLEASE ping me...
I'm WAY far south of Petaluma...I'm just hoping some kind Freeper can help you.
The second link...go back to Google and put the address in. On the right side of the page SHOULD be some extra links...I think that's where I found the aerial links. Give 'er a try...you might "see" something.
I have an aerial pic of my Grandpa & Grandma's farm and house hanging in my foyer...it's been blown up real big, in a nice frame...I have SUCH neat memories of that place too. We DID go back in about a year ago...the lady was nice enough to let us in (my sister and I). We stood there, in awe. The memories that came back were incredible.
Neither of us could figure out how they made the house and driveway SHRINK so much over the years....... Ha!
One year, YEARS ago, my husband decided he'd drive the kids and I through the old neighborhood in Chicago where he grew up in.
He turned a corner...he got a weird look on his face, told the kids to lock their doors...and just look straight ahead.
We left the area as fast as we could....
I love it when I've read peoples' recollections of childhood in days gone by, how free we were compared to now. That's neat about your grandpa's farm. It gets in your blood doesn't it? We're two generations off our family farm, and my sister and I own it, but we have renters and I don't get down there much any more. My grandparents had moved into town several years after their oldest son died of Spanish flu in WWI, my grandfather bought another farm, and rented them out. Been that way ever since. I was born after they moved into town.
One of my biggest regrets is that we didn't keep my grandmother's house in town after she died in 1958. Large old Victorian with the most gorgeous oak carved woodwork, five bedrooms, barn, chicken houses garden, grapes, raspberries, cherry trees, flowers, my treehouse, pasture, lots of wonderful, marvelous things. No tv lol. Dad sold it, they were converting it to apartments, and the thing caught on fire and burned to the ground. In later years I've wondered if it could have been arson, but the stated cause was electrical short or something. Some people built a beautiful new home on the acre or so lot, and it kind of haunts me to this day. I often think of the happy memories in that ghost home, wandering through the rooms in my mind, up the stair, into the attic, basement, so many memories in that house. Funny how something will stay with you for a lifetime like that.
After my divorce, would it have been possible, how I would have loved to own and redecorate that house and raise my children there, but it was gone and good jobs for women were scarce, so it wouldn't have been feasible unless I started some kind of business and worked my tail off.
I guess things turn out the way they were meant to to a certain extent. My children had a nice neighborhood to grow up in; that will the happy memory for them and my granddaughter who was practically raised here. As their lives go on, they will become like me, reminiscing about trouble-free (for them) days and all the fun they used to have.
Now enough is enough for tonight lol.
One last DITTO THAT before I log off....oh yes, ditto that.
My kids and Brad have had a nice neighborhood growing up, too...THEY have their own memories...what's encroaching into it is what I fear.
Goodnight, Aliska...thanks for (oh boy) the memories. :)
Very nice post!
What is so ironic about the whole thing is that I suspect he didn't get a building permit, had a go round with my ins man because of my large tree towering over it, won't get into that. The weird thing is that when a person a block away wanted to build an oversized garage, the city sent ME papers to sign off on that I didn't object to it. Why would I object to something a neighbor almost a block away might want to do?
Then the people across the alley and down one wanted to put up some really different trellis type structure, like an enormous fence with some little pockets and shelves here and there for plants. The city sends me papers to sign off. So I sign off. Why would I want to rain on their parade? I think they might be the ones who reported me to the city for minor things, but was never sure.
Now when this huge oversized garage goes up right smack on my property line, do I get anything from the city asking me to sign off? Nope. Nothing. Would I have signed off. Yes, but reluctantly in that case. I have tried to be a reasonable neighbor. Fortunately we have some older folks in the neighborhood and young ones, too, that are really nice people.
I hope this is my last little story for awhile. There is this adorable playhouse down the alley about a block away. I took a photo of a garden from the alley (legal) and caught the back of the playhouse in it. I wanted so badly to photograph that little playhouse. It took me two weeks to work up the courage to go ask. I made them a nice print of their house and gave it to them, normally I don't have an ulterior motive when I do that.
The library had looked up in the city directory who they were and their phone #, etc., but I decided to go in person. It is a very, very nice older two-story brick home that has had a huge addition, an all season room to the back.
A very young-looking mother answered the door accompanied by two young children and a friendly dog. The first thing I think is what young couple with children can afford a home like that? She eyes my cardboard suspiciously with the photo (and a set for the neighbor beautiful garden, didn't know they were separate properties), and I hastened to assure her I wasn't selling anything.
I asked for permission to come onto their property, preferably on a snowy day and please could I photograph the little playhouse. She immediate said yes I could and told me the grandfather who had built the little playhouse had died a year or so ago.
It snowed a week or two ago and I got my photos.
Later it occurred to me to google them on the net, and it turns out he is Vice President of one of the second largest real estate firms in my metropolitan area which encompasses several towns.
My heart was filled with gratitude that I was allowed onto their property to get my photos, and the love that grandfather put into all the special details on that little playhouse. It looks like an American version of a Hansel and Gretl house, painted in pastel colors with a row of wooden children holding hands dancing across the apex of the roof.
Everything isn't gloom and doom in the world, thankfully, and perhaps a more upbeat ending to a emotionally and politically-charged thread.
Well if you wanted to keep-out the riff-raff, Ron, you shoulda built a wall around your neighborhood like Papa Bush did. And maybe post a guard or two at the gates...
I'm not sure, but I think I get really chatty when something else is/was eating away at me. It has nothing to do with here, but I tackled it headon today.
I should go around the net and collect some of my archived posts, not all!!!, print them out and bind them in a book for my family. They don't care about how things were with mom, grandma now, but someday they will wish they knew more than just surface details.
I look through my family history, just a barebones outline, few letters, names, dates, pictures, but you try to put yourself in that time and wonder what they struggled with, how they handled it, why it really happened, their hopes, fears, and dreams, etc. Heck what I wouldn't give just to know some of their survival skills, use those old tools, how they even make it far enough to have us???
My own children knew so little about ME, basic things how my life was. My son was AMAZED when he found out my father was away for 4+ years in WWII, and I didn't KNOW my father until I was five. At least I HAD one! A nice one! Some fathers did not come home to their wives and children.
I spent some time the other day on the web going through the names on the wall, don't want them forgotten. You can search by town as well as name. My town had a lot. The smaller and surrounding towns hardly had any. My sister's town had one. So many were robbed of their lives, children and now so many say it was for nothing, a mistake. Their lives weren't mistakes. I knew only one person on the wall from grade school. That is a lie. I didn't KNOW him. He was in my class, several grades, and I don't remember ever TALKING to him. But girls didn't really talk to to many boys when they were kids unless they had brothers or played with them in the neighborhood. Even then, you only talked about the things you were doing together, nothing serious about what was REALLY going on in our lives. Just as well I guess :-).
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