HOUSTON – The Houston police northeast patrol station commanders and members of the Fifth Ward community met and discussed crimes Thursday in the northeast area, including the recent murder of McDonald's franchise owner and a shooting of a officer.
The Rev. John Fields, pastor of the First Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church brought together Houston police, concerned citizens, business, community and elected leaders under the same roof.
The beloved local businessman was gunned down in cold blood during a robbery in the parking lot of his restaurant.
The murder of 68-year-old Carroll Oliver, a McDonald’s franchise owner, sent shock waves through the Fifth Ward community.
“It's so important because people need to be informed. They need to be brought up to speed as to what's going on in terms of the efforts of police,” Fields said. Fields is hosting a town hall. He also hopes to get the conversation going about other crime concerns in the area.
“We've got barber shops in the area that have been hit at random. This kind of thing creates uncertainty throughout the community,” Fields said. He wants to use tonight’s meeting as a way to do more than just talk about those issues.
“We want to get to solutions. What can we do to help solve those problems. To bring a greater presence to the community of police protection that deters this kind of activity,” Fields said.
