A Houston man known as a neighborhood watchdog has been gunned down and killed on his front porch after more than 10 bullets were fired at him.
The incident happened from around 2:30 to 3 a.m. on May 27 at Travis Cary’s home on 11300 Hendon Lane.
Video from the surveillance camera showed a woman coming to Cary’s front door and talking with him for a brief moment, KHOU 11 reported.
About 10 minutes after she left, a silver Nissan Murano pulled over on the corner of the street. Two armed men emerged and got into a fight with Cary, during which they started shooting at each other.
After Cary shot and wounded one man, the second person first attempted to pull his partner into the car. He then turned around and fired at Cary over 10 times, killing him on the spot before driving off, police said.
A neighbor across the street heard the gunshots and called the police, who found the bodies of Cary and the other man who was shot. The police also found two guns at the scene, according to KTRK.
Westside and Homicide are at a homicide scene 11300 Hendon. Two adult males deceased at the scene. 202 pic.twitter.com/TNiyRnEa4R
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) May 27, 2019
The suspect who died at the scene was 19 years old, while the other is described as aged 25, 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing about 140 pounds, KTRK reported.
Fifty-two-year-old Travis Cary had watched over his neighborhood for 15 years. Neighbors and family called him Tito, and turned to him for help whenever they encountered problems.
According to KRIV, Cary lived with his adult daughter, Tierra Cary, who was not home when the shooting took place.
Many relatives and neighbors gathered at Cary’s home in shock and grief.
“All I want to say is I pray that somebody please come and say something. He was a good person. My family is going to be just grief-stricken because he was the life of the party,” Crystal Neal, Cary’s aunt, told KTRK.
Police said they are seeking the silver car and examining the surveillance footage in an attempt to track down the murderer.
Recent Gun-Related Incidents
On the same day in another part of Houston, a man was shot in the head during a quarrel with his wife.
KTRK reported that the two were fighting over a gun at their home at 1000 Beckman in northeast Houston when the gun unexpectedly went off, critically injuring the man in the head.
He was sent to the hospital after the police arrived around 3 a.m., and his wife was arrested.
In Dallas, Texas, a 29-year-old man was killed near Cedar Springs Road. The victim, Nicholas Edwards, was engaged in a fight with two other men around midnight, during which one of them pulled out a gun and repeatedly shot, WFAA reported.
North officers are at a shooting 1000 Beckmann. Adult male transported to the hospital in critical condition. Possible female suspect detained. 202 pic.twitter.com/eqmfIzFNAZ
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) May 27, 2019
The police found Edwards unconscious in the street and transferred him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Two light-skinned males fled in a red Dodge Charger, according to a press release.
The state also saw a mass shooting at a Santa Fe High School about a year ago, where eight students and two substitute teachers were killed. The May high school shooting prompted lawmakers to take several measures to address school safety, including passing legislature to increase armed school personnel and expanding mental health counseling programs.
Violent Crimes Rate Breakdown
Almost every one in 10 violent crimes in the United States occurred in Texas in 2017, according to FBI data. The 2017 state records (pdf) show a total of over 842,000 counts of crimes and over 123,200 counts of violent crimes in Texas. In particular, murder makes up two-thirds of the violent crimes that occurred, a majority of which took place at the victim’s’ residence. This averages to about one violent crime every four minutes and one murder every six hours.
