Thread: Suspected Gang Members' Gun Battle With FBI Kills 2

http://www.click2houston.com/news/5248938/detail.html


Click here for Video

Suspected Gang Members' Gun Battle With FBI Kills 2
Houston Police, FBI Believe Suspects Are Members Of International Gang

POSTED: 8:14 am CST November 4, 2005
UPDATED: 11:39 am CST November 4, 2005

HOUSTON -- Two suspected gang members died and two others were injured during a gun battle with FBI agents in northeast Houston, KPRC Local 2 reported Friday.

Authorities responded to a robbery at a home on Liberty Road near Lockwood Drive at about 11:30 p.m. Thursday.

"Four to five males came in and entered the building. They broke into a building, at which point they were surrounded by FBI agents," Houston Police Department Sgt. Mike McStravick said.

The FBI agents ordered the men to drop their weapons, however, the suspects opened fire on the officers.

Agents returned fire, striking four of the men. Two of the suspects died. Two others were transported to by air to a Hospital.

The only suspect not injured in the crossfire was taken into police custody.

FBI agents and officers with the Houston Police Department said they were monitoring the home for drug activity.

Authorities said no one was inside the home during the shootout and that no other injuries were reported.

The suspects' identities have not been released and investigators are trying to determine if they are members of the international gang, MS-13.

The suspects' identities have not been released.

The MS-13 gang originated in Central America but its activity has been reported in 33 states.

Authorities consider MS-13 among the fastest growing gangs in the United States with at least 8,000 members,

In Houston, possible members are suspected of stabbing a Hedwig Village police officer and of killing an 18-month-old boy after a possible drug deal in Huffman. Both of the attacks happened in April. The police officer survived the attack.

So the FBI had staked out a drug house and gang members invaded the drug house the FBI was staking out? The FBI then protected the drug dealers by having a shootout with the gang members? So now is the FBI back to their stakeout? Everyday I think it can't get any worse.

added to homepage

http://www.alipac.us/article850.html

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mp ... an/3440321

Nov. 5, 2005, 1:18AM



Federal SWAT team kills 2 men in anti-gang initiative
4 others nabbed in joint raid by FBI and HPD
By MÓNICA GUZM�N
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

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.

FBI agents responded immediately, telling the gunmen to drop their weapons, Tribble said. They did not comply

I hope the FBI had Spanish interpreters along.

Otherwise, I can see the lawyers having a field day, claiming the gang members didn't understand what the FBI said.

After all, it's part of their culture to fear the police, so what else could they do but shoot it out in self defense.

If some sleazy lawyer hasn't thought of this approach yet, just wait. They will.