On Tuesday, armed gunmen forced their way into a family’s home in Spring Branch, taking the mother and her two little boys—ages 1 and 3—hostage while they attempted to ransack the house.
One brave Houston police officer was shot, and the mother was tied up with zip ties.
KPRC 2′s Bill Spencer obtained exclusive video from the owner of that home where the attack took place. The video shows us how these home invaders made their way into this family’s home and tells us what they did to this woman and her two small children.
The details, not fully revealed until now, are chilling, and the actions of the mother in this case are extraordinary, bordering on Marvel-comics-super-human strength.
Watch the video and decide for yourself.
There are actually two heroes in this story: the mother who protected her two children and the HPD officer who also protected this family and was shot in the process.
More information on what happened
Chief Diaz with the Houston Police Department said during a news conference that the shooting happened at a home in the 7100 block of Alderney Dr. and Antoine Dr.
That’s where two gunmen disguised as delivery drivers knocked on the front door and forced their way inside when a mom who was home with her two kids, answered the door.
A neighbor saw the suspicious situation and called 911 around 9:40 a.m. Police officers got there in under five minutes, Chief Diaz confirmed.
When responding officers reached the scene, they found the home’s door wide open. The young woman and her children were inside. The mother’s wrists had been zip-tied, and the two men were attempting to rob the home.
The two robbers at the scene were taken into custody. A third suspect was taken into custody later in the day on Tuesday.
We don’t know yet why the robbers picked this specific home.
The mother and children in the home were not hurt and Chief Diaz said they might have been saved in part due to the neighbor’s quick actions that enabled the police to respond immediately.
Tuesday afternoon, HPD announced that Officer S.A. Durfee is expected to make a full recovery
In the press conference shortly after the incident, Houston Police Chief J. Noe Diaz said Officer Durfee—whose identity had not been made public at the time—had been shot one time in the thigh and was in stable condition. He was described as in “very good spirits.”
“[Officer Durfee] is a hero in my book,” Chief Diaz added.