A homeowner had a close call after he was mistaken to be an intruder by a Houston Police officer responding to a panic alarm.
According to Assistant Chief P. Cantu of the Houston Police Department, a panic alarm went off at the homeowner’s home at 10:50 p.m.
Ten minutes later, officers with the Houston Police Department arrived at the residence located in the 5500 block of August Hill Drive in Kingwood, TX at 11 p.m. EMS was already at the scene.
The officers knocked on the front door but did not hear a response. They went around to the back of the house to check the backyard and the perimeter. At one point, the officer noticed a man inside the home that pointed a gun at them. One of the responding officers, thinking it was an intruder, then discharged his firearm at the person he thought was an intruder.
Thankfully, the officer missed because it was quickly determined that the person he shot at was the homeowner. Both the officer and the homeowner walked away without injuries.
While this seems like an open and closed case, there were several agencies at the scene working to determine what exactly happened. Police at this point believe that there was a mix-up with the alarm company as the homeowner apparently did not have a clue his panic alarm was going off. The homeowner was sound asleep when officers arrived and certainly not expecting police officers to come, which is why he pointed his weapon toward the officers.
We will keep you updated if we learn of any developments.
