HOUSTON – Authorities have released the identity of the suspect who got more than he bargained for when he allegedly discharged a gun at a popular sushi restaurant in Highland Village on Monday night.
It happened around 11:30 p.m. at Ra Sushi located at 3908 Westheimer in Highland Village.
According to officers, about 50 people were inside the restaurant when Jesus Edray Cardiel Samaniego, 24, pulled out a gun and shot it into the air.
He was taken down and detained by at least two quick-thinking patrons who were with a pair of women inside the restaurant. One of those men was a UFC fighter, police said.
Dallas resident Patrick Robinson said he and some friends were eating dinner when they heard a loud “boom.” Customers then began to run.
“We just quickly hopped on it, got to the shooter, got him down,” Robinson said. “He had a backpack on him. We got the backpack away from him because we didn’t know what was in the backpack. And pretty much everything went well from there.”
KPRC 2 confirmed the identity of the UFC fighter as Kevin Holland.
Multiple reports from the MMA audience on social media spoke about Holland’s heroism, speaking of how he’s done similar things in the past.
A Twitter post from the official page of @KevinHolland had an “about last night” reference, in addition to an Instagram story posted on his official @trailblaze2top account, with a video showing Holland and Robinson speaking about the incident in the parking lot of the restaurant. (Click to view as Instagram stories disappear within 24 hours.)
Women who were out dining with the two men that night also spoke about their bravery.
Officers said no injuries were reported. The suspect had narcotics on him at the time of the shooting, police said.
On Tuesday, Samaniego was charged with deadly conduct and carrying a handgun in a motor vehicle.
Records show that Samaniego, who is from Mexico, has been arrested multiple times, with charges dating back to 2016.