HOUSTON – The Houston Police Department says a man who pulled a gun on two firefighters responding to a call of a man having seizures at a southwest Houston apartment complex is facing charges.
The incident happened at the Ashford Buena Vista Apartments in the 6000 block of Bissonnet Street at around 11 p.m. Saturday night.
Tonight a @HoustonFire crew was threatened with a gun while on an EMS incident. Fearing for their lives, two Firefighters jumped from a 2nd story balcony stairwell onto the ground, causing injury
— Chief Samuel Peña (@FireChiefofHFD) January 28, 2024
This deadly conduct against 1st responders is outrageous and inexcusable! pic.twitter.com/5kMwmAWJmG
Authorities said the firefighters arrived at the scene and spoke to the man who appeared confused.
They were going to take him to the hospital, and he asked if he could grab a t-shirt before leaving. The man went into his room and returned with a loaded gun.
They heard the pistol being cocked, and they ran for their lives, which included jumping off a second story balcony,” said Houston Mayor John Whitmire, who spoke about the incident on Sunday afternoon.
They were both taken to a local hospital.
“This deadly conduct against 1st responders is outrageous and inexcusable!” said HFD Chief Samuel Peña.
I spoke with @FireChiefofHFD & shared his anger. I was glad to hear his firefighters are going to be ok and told him we will continue to work with all of our first responders to ensure their safety.
— Troy Finner (@TroyFinner) January 28, 2024
The suspect, 23, will be charged with 2 counts of assault of a public servant. https://t.co/Szyb3GzxnN
The 23-year-old suspect, identified as Jaime Marquez, was taken into custody. He has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault of a public servant, according to HPD.
UPDATE: The suspect arrested for pointing a gun @HoustonFire paramedics in an apartment at 6000 Bissonnet St. about 11:10 pm on Saturday (Jan. 27) is now charged.
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) January 28, 2024
Jaime Marquez, 23, is charged with 2 counts of aggravated assault against a public servant.#hounews
The firefighters involved were identified as HFD Firefighter EOE (Engineer Operator) Cory Grant and HFD Firefighter Andrew Hoegsberg.
Sunday afternoon, Houston Mayor John Whitmire and President of the Houston Professional Firefighters Association Patrick Lancton spoke about the incident.
Both of them said they have spoken to the firefighters who were involved. Lancton said one of them suffered a broken scapula while the other had multiple bumps and bruises. They were both released from the hospital and are now recovering at home.
“These kind of incidents show we don’t know what it is that we are going to be dealing with on a daily bases, our critical mission is to ensure that we are serving the citizens of Houston, we are responding to them on their worst day, and last night should never happen to a member of the Houston Fire Department. We live to serve and we live to protect the men and women that are in this city,” Lancton said.
Whitmire described what they believed happened when the man pulled a gun on the firefighters.
“We believe that the person was coming out of a seizure, was very confused, and felt like someone was there to not help but to harm him and he responded to protect and its under investigation by HPD,” he said.
He urges the citizens of Houston to thank first responders when they see them.
“I would urge Houstonians to thank our firefighters, thank our first responders when they see them on the street because they live in constant danger as they go about protecting the rest of us,” Whitmire said.
Lancton said one of the firefighters has been with the Houston Fire Department for about 10 years while the other one was relatively new to the department.
“Violence against first responders is and will never be tolerated and that is something that our society will stand up against,” Lancton said.
