HOUSTON – Tony Buzbee held his first mayoral campaign rally Monday near Rice Military.
At the rally, he also provided new details about a break-in and robbery at his River Oaks home early Monday morning. He said the burglary occurred just hours after he hosted a Super Bowl party.
"This morning at 6 a.m., you may have heard this," Buzbee said. "I woke up and something didn't seem right in my house."
Buzbee said when he went downstairs his front door was wide open. When he went to close it -- he spotted a man in his front yard, went upstairs to check on his children, grabbed a pistol and called 911.
He said the most frightening moment came less than 20 minutes later when he and his son came face-to-face with one of the burglars -- still in the house -- in his son's room.
"That particular individual was wearing a black hoodie, black pants," Buzbee said. "I told him, 'Step back.' And I was gonna fire my weapon at him."
Buzbee said he shared the ordeal not to criticize law enforcement but to highlight the need to reduce crime in the city he wants to lead.
"If we can't be safe in our homes where can we be safe?" Buzbee asked the crowd. "Crime has no ZIP code and none of us are immune. We better do something about the crime in this town."
The thieves were able to get away with millions of dollars in cash, art and weapons but no one was injured.
In his rally, Buzbee also addressed the issues of firefighter pay, the need to properly fund a flood control plan and homelessness.
