KHOU-11’s Wendell Edwards reports on surging crime in southwest Houston’s Chinatown:
In New Chinatown on Houston’s far southwest side, you can find almost anything.
But what you won’t find is the noodle house open after 4 p.m.
Manager Tony Nguyen said extended hours mean increased risk when it comes to crime.
“I can’t open later, there are certain things I can’t do if I don’t take into consideration certain things, like crime, in the area,” Nguyen said.
Authorities have confirmed a rise in crime in the Chinatown, an area commercial real estate developer Kenneth Li helped build in the late 1980s.
There are about 1,000 businesses there, but Li said an old problem comes with new growth.
He said crime has creeped in and become a huge threat.
“Crime is a very common problem in the whole city of Houston area,” Li said. “We just want people to know, to warn people to be aware of that, and we should work together.”
At a town hall meeting, community leaders stressed that working together is perhaps the best way to prevent crime.
They said police just can’t do it alone.
“Cities and business group have to be as much a part of crime prevention as anybody else,” Houston City Council member M.J. Khan said.
Surely Councilmember Khan does not mean to suggest that businesses closing early and their owners getting the hell out of crime-ridden neighborhoods before dark is his solution to surging crime.
So what in the world is he talking about?
Here’s some “prevention” that recently went on in the same part of town:
Houston police are investigating the fatal shooting of a robbery suspect and the wounding of a business owner at 10218 Beechnut about 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday (May 31).
The suspect, 36, was shot multiple times and died at the scene. His identity is pending notification to family members.
The victim, Luan Lam, 30, who owns the business at 10218 Beechnut, received a gunshot wound to the leg and was transported to a hospital for treatment.
HPD Homicide Division Sergeant M. Peters and Officer C.T. Hufstedler reported:
Two black male suspects entered the R-N-R liquor store at 10218 Beechnut and bought a can of beer. After the purchase, the suspects attempted to rob the business. The owner then pulled his gun from under the counter and exchanged gunfire with one of the two suspects. One suspect was killed at the scene, the second fled on foot.
Since Councilmember Khan effectively told the Chinatown folks they’re on their own, the business owners in the neighborhood apparently just need to “work together” to see that they’re well armed.
RELATED: HPD redeploying officers to southwest side (KHOU).
