Homeowner shoots, kills 2 men in ski masks claiming to be officers, HPD says
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The homeowner told police the two men said they were police and claimed they were at the home to serve a warrant.
[The homeowner] became suspicious, because, you know, they have a ring camera too, and the suspects were saying they had a warrant, but it was just two people and they're masked up and no police cars, no lights or anything like that," said Lt. Khan with HPD.
At some point, police said the men shot at the homeowner through the door, prompting the homeowner to return fire.
The homeowner was not hurt in the gunfire, but the two men were both hit and pronounced dead at the scene.
"Stringer noted that real officers do not wear ski masks."
It's going to be very, very interesting to see how this one turns out!
Always a good idea to be aware of lethal force rules where you live:
In this case, Houston, Texas:
"The Role of the Castle Doctrine in Texas
The Castle Doctrine is a key element of Texas self-defense laws. This principle allows individuals to use force, including deadly force, to protect themselves in their homes, vehicles, or workplaces without a duty to retreat. Under Texas law, your “castle” is considered a place where you have a legal right to be, and force may be justified when:
Someone unlawfully enters or attempts to enter your home.
The intruder is committing or attempting to commit a violent act, such as robbery or assault.
You reasonably believe force is necessary to protect yourself or others.
There are some limitations to this principle. For example, the use of force is typically not justified if the intruder is retreating or if you initiated the altercation."
So, assuming the story is accurate, and remember, initial reports are almost always INACCURATE...
"At some point, police said the men shot at the homeowner through the door, prompting the homeowner to return fire."
So, yeah, as soon as they shot through the door, Castle Doctrine is in play.
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The homeowner told police the two men said they were police and claimed they were at the home to serve a warrant.
[The homeowner] became suspicious, because, you know, they have a ring camera too, and the suspects were saying they had a warrant, but it was just two people and they're masked up and no police cars, no lights or anything like that," said Lt. Khan with HPD.
At some point, police said the men shot at the homeowner through the door, prompting the homeowner to return fire.
The homeowner was not hurt in the gunfire, but the two men were both hit and pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said if you're ever unsure whether it is really the police outside your door, there are some signs to look for.
"Obviously, a police car with some sort of lights and sirens and a bullhorn where we'll be announcing ourselves," HPD Detective Kyle Stringer told Choi.
Sir, please go turn on your siren and announce yourself on the bullhorn so I can confirm you're a real cop.
How is that their actual advice...
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The homeowner told police the two men said they were police and claimed they were at the home to serve a warrant.
[The homeowner] became suspicious, because, you know, they have a ring camera too, and the suspects were saying they had a warrant, but it was just two people and they're masked up and no police cars, no lights or anything like that," said Lt. Khan with HPD.
At some point, police said the men shot at the homeowner through the door, prompting the homeowner to return fire.
The homeowner was not hurt in the gunfire, but the two men were both hit and pronounced dead at the scene.
Is anyone else finding this story a little strange? Not someone finally shooting fake-ICE people. But:
Fake-ICE is wearing bulletproof vests and shoots at the homeowner through the door. The homeowner isn't injured. Fine.
The homeowner returns fire, through the door, hits and kills the two guys wearing bulletproof vests. Doesn't that strike anyone else as odd? Both dead, neither injured, despite bulletproof vests, despite being shot through a door?
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Is anyone else finding this story a little strange? Not someone finally shooting fake-ICE people. But:
Fake-ICE is wearing bulletproof vests and shoots at the homeowner through the door. The homeowner isn't injured. Fine.
The homeowner returns fire, through the door, hits and kills the two guys wearing bulletproof vests. Doesn't that strike anyone else as odd? Both dead, neither injured, despite bulletproof vests, despite being shot through a door?
There's different types of vest, and they're rated to stop different types of bullet.
If these guys are just pretending to be cops, they may well have just grabbed the cheapest vests they could find that looked convincing.
And a rifle round could have just punched straight on through a vest only rated for pistol rounds.
Also most vests don't cover the neck or sides of the body. Or the big arteries in the legs.
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The homeowner told police the two men said they were police and claimed they were at the home to serve a warrant.
[The homeowner] became suspicious, because, you know, they have a ring camera too, and the suspects were saying they had a warrant, but it was just two people and they're masked up and no police cars, no lights or anything like that," said Lt. Khan with HPD.
At some point, police said the men shot at the homeowner through the door, prompting the homeowner to return fire.
The homeowner was not hurt in the gunfire, but the two men were both hit and pronounced dead at the scene.
lots of us said that this would be exactly what would be happening with masked police using constant escalation dominance as a tactic.
this is civil war behavior from a civilization.
it will also lead to blood feuds between people and the police as a whole. i expect to see more actual police police getting ambushed even if they are in a sanctuary city and are not acting to aid ICE.
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How many vests cover the face? You can also shrapnel their groin area, and they bleed out before any ambulance will be there.
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How many vests cover the face? You can also shrapnel their groin area, and they bleed out before any ambulance will be there.
One of the reasons why I picked a shotgun and use 000 buckshot is because of the spread. I assume my aim sucks, and hope that hitting the bad guys in a unarmored limb will be enough to remove them from a fight.
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One of the reasons why I picked a shotgun and use 000 buckshot is because of the spread. I assume my aim sucks, and hope that hitting the bad guys in a unarmored limb will be enough to remove them from a fight.
Any recommendations?
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Police said if you're ever unsure whether it is really the police outside your door, there are some signs to look for.
"Obviously, a police car with some sort of lights and sirens and a bullhorn where we'll be announcing ourselves," HPD Detective Kyle Stringer told Choi.
Sir, please go turn on your siren and announce yourself on the bullhorn so I can confirm you're a real cop.
How is that their actual advice...
You cant be a cop if your IQ is too high.
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The homeowner told police the two men said they were police and claimed they were at the home to serve a warrant.
[The homeowner] became suspicious, because, you know, they have a ring camera too, and the suspects were saying they had a warrant, but it was just two people and they're masked up and no police cars, no lights or anything like that," said Lt. Khan with HPD.
At some point, police said the men shot at the homeowner through the door, prompting the homeowner to return fire.
The homeowner was not hurt in the gunfire, but the two men were both hit and pronounced dead at the scene.
HPD Detective Kyle Stringer told Choi.... that real officers do not wear ski masks.
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There's different types of vest, and they're rated to stop different types of bullet.
If these guys are just pretending to be cops, they may well have just grabbed the cheapest vests they could find that looked convincing.
And a rifle round could have just punched straight on through a vest only rated for pistol rounds.
Also most vests don't cover the neck or sides of the body. Or the big arteries in the legs.
Also the vests could have been fake.
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Any recommendations?
If you talking shotguns, I am an amateur, so use a hefty block of salt: I have a VR80. It is a semi-auto that uses magazines, which should make it better for military situations. My guess is that if civil war breaks out, both sides will initially be recruiting troops with whatever kit they happen to have - formal outfitting by Blue States would depend on where and when you are, so it would be better to bring a gun that is fit for combat in the first place. If you live in California or other restrictive states, you remove a pin and split the gun in half, allowing the mag release to operate. Apparently a small piece of the tool can be removed to permanently enable the mag button.
The VR80 will take a good number of rounds fired before it starts to loosen up. Jamming is an issue during the break-in, but that is fine if you are practicing. This weapon in particular prefers more powerful rounds, and is designed to be ambidextrous, along with being AR-15 style for addons. If you can, ditch the stock - it doesn't telescope, and feels awkward to me.
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The homeowner told police the two men said they were police and claimed they were at the home to serve a warrant.
[The homeowner] became suspicious, because, you know, they have a ring camera too, and the suspects were saying they had a warrant, but it was just two people and they're masked up and no police cars, no lights or anything like that," said Lt. Khan with HPD.
At some point, police said the men shot at the homeowner through the door, prompting the homeowner to return fire.
The homeowner was not hurt in the gunfire, but the two men were both hit and pronounced dead at the scene.
This is why is a good idea to have an armed citizenry and well-regulated militias operating with transparency.
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HPD Detective Kyle Stringer told Choi.... that real officers do not wear ski masks.
Detective Stringer doesn’t watch the news.
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Also the vests could have been fake.
Honestly, if their goal was to imitate the appearance of cops, that seems likely. I imagine full kevlar is pretty expensive.
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The homeowner told police the two men said they were police and claimed they were at the home to serve a warrant.
[The homeowner] became suspicious, because, you know, they have a ring camera too, and the suspects were saying they had a warrant, but it was just two people and they're masked up and no police cars, no lights or anything like that," said Lt. Khan with HPD.
At some point, police said the men shot at the homeowner through the door, prompting the homeowner to return fire.
The homeowner was not hurt in the gunfire, but the two men were both hit and pronounced dead at the scene.
American Walls and doors are just paper maché anyway, so he could have killed them just as well by throwing the bullets at them like Charlie Sheen in Hot Shots.
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If you talking shotguns, I am an amateur, so use a hefty block of salt: I have a VR80. It is a semi-auto that uses magazines, which should make it better for military situations. My guess is that if civil war breaks out, both sides will initially be recruiting troops with whatever kit they happen to have - formal outfitting by Blue States would depend on where and when you are, so it would be better to bring a gun that is fit for combat in the first place. If you live in California or other restrictive states, you remove a pin and split the gun in half, allowing the mag release to operate. Apparently a small piece of the tool can be removed to permanently enable the mag button.
The VR80 will take a good number of rounds fired before it starts to loosen up. Jamming is an issue during the break-in, but that is fine if you are practicing. This weapon in particular prefers more powerful rounds, and is designed to be ambidextrous, along with being AR-15 style for addons. If you can, ditch the stock - it doesn't telescope, and feels awkward to me.
It's alright, it's also kind of a waste, unless you're like clearing a small area or slinging slugs at something heavily armored you could really get everything accomplished with a traditional tube shotgun, if that doesn't work get a keltec, as far as military situations get a semi rifle or honestly even a bolt unless for some reason you're trying to kill everything 30yds in front of you multiple times.
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The homeowner told police the two men said they were police and claimed they were at the home to serve a warrant.
[The homeowner] became suspicious, because, you know, they have a ring camera too, and the suspects were saying they had a warrant, but it was just two people and they're masked up and no police cars, no lights or anything like that," said Lt. Khan with HPD.
At some point, police said the men shot at the homeowner through the door, prompting the homeowner to return fire.
The homeowner was not hurt in the gunfire, but the two men were both hit and pronounced dead at the scene.
Hope the homeowner is acquitted of any wrongdoing or damages in court.
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Hope the homeowner is acquitted of any wrongdoing or damages in court.
It's texas. He'll probably get a medal or something from his local law enforcement and a round of talk shows on fox if the colors line up with what fox likes/doesn't like.
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Honestly, if their goal was to imitate the appearance of cops, that seems likely. I imagine full kevlar is pretty expensive.
I think you can get a III-a vest for about $500. That's not terribly expensive, but a criminal planning something like this may have been a little rushed and strapped for cash. It's been a few years since I cared to even look, so prices may have gotten higher.
