A cyclist in Houston, Texas, shot a driver who had crashed into another rider – with the city’s police department saying that he was justified in pulling the trigger, because he feared for his life.
The incident happened in the city’s East End at the weekend, reports ABC 13 Eyewitness News.
The motorist, 26-year-old Jose Angel Hernandez, is alleged to have shouted at a couple cycling to get off the road as he drove his vehicle at a woman, apparently on purpose.
The man she was riding with then opened fire on the driver –carrying a concealed weapon is permitted in Texas under licence, although even that requirement will be scrapped from 1 September.
A police officer at the scene was reported as saying: “He was in fear of his life, and he was trying to defend himself.”
The cyclists were said to be “okay” following the incident, while Hernandez was taken to hospital for treatment for unspecified injuries and has since been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon – in other words, his car.
Local cycle campaign group Bike Houston said on Twitter: “While we do not recommend people carry a weapon while riding their bikes, this incident shows that the threat of traffic violence is enough to convince some bicyclists that they must.”
38 thoughts on “Texas cyclist shoots driver who deliberately crashed into his riding partner”
While shooting people should
While shooting people should generally not be condoned, self defence and the defence of other innocent parties is certainly justifiable, and rather levels out the playing field between cyclists and drivers. If one person has a lethal weapon and uses it to inflict injury and death, surely the threatened party should be afforded the same?
About thirty years ago, there was a spate of drivers in the USA being shot by other drivers for some perceived infraction, and suddenly, drivers became incredibly polite to each other, for fear of being shot. I’m sure the same effect would be had if cyclists were allowed to shoot at drivers who deliberately put their lives at risk, and let’s face it, the government don’t give a flying flamingo about cyclists dying, killed by dangerous drivers.
How about carrying a fake AK47 strapped over your shoulder? That would get you plenty of room.
I’d recommend both parties
I’d recommend both parties leave the deadly weapons at home.
A cyclist and a gun owner.
A cyclist and a gun owner. The cops must have been so conflicted…..
Until they realised the
Until they realised the driver is Hispanic.
A while back, I used to chat
A while back, I used to chat to a guy who worked at a Dunkin Donuts in an extremely rough part of town in the US.
Both him and his manager came to work absolutely strapped. we’re talking one concealed on his waist and a backup in an ankle holster on one and a boot knife on the other.
He originally didnt know that his manager was packing heat but once he opened up about himself being strapped cuz the area wasnt safe, His manager didnt care what HQ had to say about it. I dont think they ever got robbed while he was working there.
They would have an armed
They would have an armed battle over – let me get this right – Donuts ??
And if they are carrying concealed – why weren’t they ever robbed. Perhaps the area wasnt as bad as your psycho pal suggested.
fenix wrote:
They were robbed quite a few times before he got a job there. Thats why he came to work armed the way he did. People they hired kept quitting but this guy stuck it out because he basically has an armoury at home and the manager didnt care if he came to work strapped. If his manager said he wasnt allowed to arm himself. He probably would have quit the job too.
Just because you carry a concealed weapon doesnt mean you cant draw your weapon if you see trouble about to happen, The same reason you dont necessarily need to fire your weapon every time you draw.
Once people in town know that youre armed, they are less likely to attempt to rob your store though that doesnt stop crackheads and alcoholics trying.
Even if you have a concealed carry license, you normally wouldnt carry more than 1 handgun.
Though I suppose you gotta be a little crazy if youre working in Dunkin Donuts.
fenix wrote:
The battle would be over the cash in the register, wouldn’t it?
I just lurrrrrrve America, me
I just lurrrrrrve America, me.
I get anxious if I don’t have
I get a bit anxious if I don’t have a camera on my bike but it must be extremely stressful being so terrified of simply going to work that you would feel the need to go “strapped” with a deadly weapon. Not just for protection against some armed raider of the imagination but a similarly armed co-worker who might suddenly decide to have a really bad day or more likely, being a planned act, bring far superior firepower to the party.
That’s what I don’t
That’s what I don’t understand about ‘Merica, looking at it from the UK.
In large parts of that country, there’s a pretty good chance that any person you encounter is carrying a gun.
I’d be f-ing terrified to even accidentally make eye contact: “What you looking at?” <blam!>
Yeah, right. Instead of just
Yeah, right. Instead of just giving robber $234 from the cash register and let the gigacorporation collect the insurance, you start shooting around, with best case being “you just killed a guy in a self-defence for $234”, worst case “you got killed for $234 because you escalated and the robber shot first” and middle ground “you killed a random bystander for $234”. That’s awesome. ‘MURICA! FREEDOM! 2ND AMENDMENT!
Cool story bro. Yeah it
Cool story bro. Yeah it always, always, always goes exactly like you described.
[quote=BobK]
Yeah, right. Instead of just giving robber $234 from the cash regist…(SNIPPED FOR CLARITY)
Leaving aside the gun issue,
Leaving aside the gun issue, isn’t it refreshing to see the police treat a car as a deadly weapon?
Precisely my thoughts – if
Precisely my thoughts – if you were merely carrying a knife, in public, you’d be liable for prosecution but, actually using a vehicle as a weapon seems to be acceptable, for some reason
belugabob wrote:
Doesn’t even need to be sharp knife – one chap was convicted for possessing the handle-less blade of a completely blunt butterknife (even heated up, it probably couldn’t cut butter).
belugabob wrote:
So, is carrying a car illegal (as well as very, very difficult)? It doesn’t seem fair that knives and handguns are illegal, but tanks and cannon are OK because they have their own wheels.
Reviews of luggage and jersey
Reviews of luggage and jersey pockets are going to have to change if we’re all going to want to be tooled up.
AFAIK context is important for offensive weapon prosecutions – if you are carrying a kitchen knife in its unopened packaging having just bought it, you’re not in any trouble unless there’s clear evidence that you’re on your way to commit a crime with it. On the flip side, you can be arrested for carrying almost anything if there’s intent that it could be used as a weapon, e.g. a baseball bat at 2 am in an urban area – unless you can show that you are a key part of your local overnight baseball league on your way to a crucial game.
And infamously, years ago a man was shot dead while carrying a table leg that witnesses thought might have been a gun.
TheBillder wrote:
No, it was the police who thought it was a gun; and as I recall, he had an Irish accent.
No, the witness thought he
No, the witness thought he had a weapon in a carrier bag and that he had an Irish accent when in fact it was a table leg and it was a Scottish accent.
The police didn’t really do any verification of the witness claims before shooting Stanley.
Later decided as unlawful.
This is great. There are many
This is great. There are many, many more motorists who would benefit from this education.
Personally I would feel justified taking at least 3 motorists out on every commute. Unfortunately it’s illegal in this country, plus I would find the weight penalty hard to accept.
Weight is less important than
Weight is less important than aerodynamics.
Mungecrundle wrote:
Now you’re talking!
The weight penalty reduces,
The weight penalty reduces, with each use…
How fast is this going
How fast is this going backwards when the unfortunate rider pulls the trigger?
Hmm – kickstarter for a
Hmm – kickstarter for a carbon fibre wheel blade thingy…
Dragons Den !
Dragons Den !
There was a bristolian father/son combo last week trying to sell an ebike converter kit.
I did wonder if it was brooksby and lad or hp and lad !
eBikes? Don’t you talk to me
eBikes? Don’t you talk to me about eBikes…
You won’t be saying that when
You won’t be saying that when you are older with an arthritic hip or dodgy knee !
You won’t be saying that when
You won’t be saying that when you are older with an arthritic hip or dodgy knee !
Well I will, because I already am older and have a dodgy knee as a result of free-fall mountaineering in 1972
I do have a dodgy knee (and
I do have a dodgy knee (and shoulder, and foot, and elbow). Does my opinion on eBikes count now? 😉
No true scotsman…
No true scotsman…
(No subject)
This seems like a decent
This seems like a decent result. Far better than getting the driver sent on a poxy course over in the UK…
Far better than getting the
Far better than getting the driver sent on a poxy course over in the UK…
You missed ‘poxy online no-inconvenience at-your-leisure’ course in the UK
wtjs wrote:
I had heard they were previously 4 hours long, and are now online and 30 mintes long. If that’s true then it’s less of a deterrent.
This came up for me randomly
This came up for me randomly
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TatC6B–SP8
Armed Cyclist tackled by Pedestrians – Cardiff !
I’ve had thoughts on this
I’ve had thoughts on this before whilst cycling and I’ve thought, upon taking a life would only be just if my life was on the edge.. we generally live in a law abiding society, and so i hope it stays that way!