HOUSTON – A Houston-area mother with two young boys was left horrified Tuesday morning after two armed robbers disguised as delivery drivers forced their way into their home.
The shooting led to three total suspects being arrested and a Houston Police Department officer being shot in the leg.
Shortly after the incident, KPRC 2 is learning new information about the crime.
KPRC 2′s Bill Spencer spoke with Ben Bates, the owner of the home where the robbery took place. While he wasn’t at the home during the invasion, his daughter, Nicole, and her two young sons—ages three and one—were attacked.
Bates said the two suspects came to the door carrying a red DoorDash bag and wearing “COVID-19″ masks, appearing to be delivery drivers. Nicole initially thought they had the wrong address, and as she opened the door to inform them, one of the men pulled a gun out of his red bag. Then, the men forced their way into the house at gunpoint.
After they got inside, Bates said the men zip-tied his daughter’s wrists and ransacked the home in search of jewelry and other valuables. Bates didn’t believe that they got away with anything, but he said they initially put his grandson’s Xbox console in the red bag.
Bill Spencer: “So, they came in and zip-tied your daughter did they do anything to the children?”
Ben Bates: “They didn’t do anything to the kids, but they did have her walking them through the rooms of the house finding things to take.”
Just minutes after the two men entered the home, police arrived at the scene and confronted the robbers. That is when the Houston police officer was shot in the leg by one of the suspects.
Nicole and the two boys were not injured during the attack, but Bates said the horrifying incident has taken an emotional toll on his daughter.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this in my lifetime,” Bates said. “But I can’t imagine what my daughter is going through right now.”
The officer who was shot at the scene is in stable condition. He was released from the hospital Tuesday afternoon.