Don’t mess with Texas.
A shotgun-wielding Houston resident has been protecting his neighborhood from looters — proclaiming that he’s “an ex-f–king SWAT deputy” who isn’t afraid to “cut yo ass in half.”
“Hey, don’t you go back in that store! I’m telling you one time. I’m not scared to shoot ya,” the man can be heard shouting on video.
“Put it down!” he says, yelling at a number of individuals who appear to be ransacking the Little York Food Mart on Little York Rd.
“I’m an ex-f–king SWAT deputy! I will cut yo ass in half. Don’t go in that store no goddamn more!”
A woman, who is sitting in a car nearby, caught the man on camera this week and posted the footage online. The video went viral Wednesday, with countless people sharing it on social media.
“American HERO!!!” wrote one Youtube user.
“He should be given an award,” another said.
In the clip, several looters can be seen scattering in different directions as the man shouts at them and explains why he’s stopping people from taking advantage of Tropical Storm Harvey.
“[I’m] protecting the community where I live,” he says. “I grew up in this area, I’m a former law enforcement officer, so I understand what the law says. If you’re looting, you’re stealing. It’s a violation of Texas law and federal law in the time of a catastrophe…Constitution says you’ve got the right to bear arms.”
The woman filming the video praises the man for his efforts, along with another person who comes up and starts filming him as well.
“They looting the stores and this man out here is trying to literally protect the community,” she says.
At one point, her mother asks: “Is he for real?”
The woman replies, “Yea, he got a real-ass shotgun in his hand!”
The man goes on to tell the woman that what the community needs right now is someone to step up and protect the helpless, while cops focus on rescuing flood victims.
“Its a shame,” he says. “We need more real men out to step up and protect where you live. This storm is temporary…It don’t make no sense that these guys out here, too lazy to get a damn job, the energy they using to rob — they need to use that energy to rescue people.”
On Tuesday, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo issued a stern warning to looters -— saying they will receive “the toughest sentence” that they can possibly get, if caught.
“This is the state of Texas, and we’re a welcoming city, but we’re not going to tolerate people victimizing, especially committing armed robberies in our city,” Acevedo said at a press conference.
While officers have managed to catch a number of armed looters, there’s still been many that have gone unnoticed. But not near the Little York Food Mart, though.
“Lord Jesus. This s–t is getting real,” the woman filming the video says. “They are not playing out here…This man out here with his shotgun, y’all. This is not a game.”
