Latest news with #HoustonPoliceDepartment
Newsweek
2 hours ago
- Newsweek
Woman Killed By 11-Year-Old Driver: Police
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. On Wednesday, a 54-year-old woman in Houston was killed after being pinned against another vehicle by a minivan being driven by an 11-year-old child, according to authorities. The Context According to Texas Department of Transportation data, in 2024, 4,150 people were killed in vehicle accidents across the Lone Star State, down 3.3 percent from 4,291 in 2023. What To Know In a press release published on Thursday, the Houston Police Department said the fatal incident took place the previous day at around 5:30 p.m. CT on 3700 Carothers Street. Crimes Division Sergeant M. Sudduth and Officer N. Solomon said an 11-year-old child was driving a black Chrysler Town and Country minivan and had been instructed by the 54-year-old pedestrian to pull the vehicle forward into a driveway. However, when the child drove forward, the woman became crushed between the minivan and a Toyota Sequoia. Houston Fire Department transported her to an area hospital, where she was pronounced dead by medical staff. Police said the identity of the 54-year-old victim has not been published as the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences is still investigating and seeking to notify her family. Stock photograph showing a Houston Police uniform patch on April 6, 2024, in Houston, Texas. Stock photograph showing a Houston Police uniform patch on April 6, 2024, in Houston, Texas. Aaron M. Sprecher/GETTY Speaking to Newsweek, a Houston Police Department spokesperson said they couldn't confirm whether the 54-year-old woman and the 11-year-old child were related. Police questioned "all persons who remained on the scene" and were later released, with the investigation ongoing. Anyone who has information about the incident can contact the Houston Police Department's Office of Community Affairs at 713-308-3200. In a separate incident on March 14, five people were killed during a 17-vehicle collision in Austin, including two children. Police said the crash involved "multiple vehicles and a semi-truck" with several people left "pinned in their vehicles." What People Are Saying In a statement included in the press release Sergeant Sudduth and Officer Solomon said: "The driver, 11, of a black Chrysler Town and Country minivan was instructed by the pedestrian (deceased) to pull the vehicle forward in the driveway at the above address. When the driver drove forward, the victim was pinned between the Chrysler and a parked silver Toyota Sequoia. "The victim was transported to an area hospital by responding Houston Fire Department paramedics where she was pronounced deceased." What Happens Next Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances behind Thursday's crash. More information is expected to be released in due course after the deceased's family has been notified.
New York Post
15-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Democratic city officers flocking to cop-friendly red states, police leader claims: ‘Why would anyone stay?'
Law enforcement officers in areas primarily run by Democrats continue to flock to red states for job security, better pay and bosses who will back them up, according to one police leader. Joe Gamaldi is the national vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP). He is an active lieutenant with the Houston Police Department, and he said police in blue cities are tired of facing hostility from local leaders. Advertisement 'What we've seen is really a mass exodus of police officers leaving far-left cities for basically greener pastures,' he told Fox News Digital. 'Because, ultimately, people want to feel appreciated for what they do, and when you have a boss — in this case, mayors or city councils, who regularly call you a piece of crap to the public — why would anyone stay?' Florida is one example of a Republican-led state that has benefited from the mass departures. 5 'What we've seen is really a mass exodus of police officers leaving far-left cities for basically greener pastures,' Joe Gamaldi said. AP Advertisement According to a 2024 statement from former Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, the state welcomed 5,000 law enforcement recruits between 2022 and last year, and 1,200 of them came from out of state. 'Florida is the most pro-law enforcement state in the nation because we back our blue,' Moody said at the time. 'We've been spreading the word about all the great incentives to join our ranks, and individuals like the new Sarasota recruits have answered the call, leaving behind places where their service was not as appreciated as it is here.' She said she was 'as inspired as ever to continue doing all we can to show our support to those who bravely protect and serve' after seeing the influx of police officers into the state. 5 Florida welcomed 5,000 law enforcement recruits between 2022 and last year, and 1,200 of them came from out of state. Fox News Digital Advertisement Gamaldi said officers are also moving to cities that may lean blue but are in red states and still have the support of elected leadership and the community, adding officers are 'voting with their feet.' 'We're also seeing it [in] Texas in Houston, which is a city that leans a little blue, but they have been supportive of police officers,' he said. 'The mayor there has given a massive raise to police officers. You're seeing officers go there. You're seeing officers go to Dallas. So, you're seeing all these communities, and there's one common thread. It's 'We support police officers.'' Gamaldi emphasized that the trend began after the 2020 defund the police movement and said, in many cities, law enforcement officers are afraid to do their jobs in 'critical incident' situations, even when they do them by the book. 5 Gamaldi said officers are also moving to cities that may lean blue but are in red states and still have the support of elected leadership and the community. LightRocket via Getty Images Advertisement 'I think you can look no further than Seattle, Portland, Chicago [and] New York,' he said. 'All of these cities have basically told their police officers, 'We don't support you. We're not gonna be there for you when you need us. We're gonna try to defund you when given the opportunity.' 'I mean, my goodness, right now, one of the mayoral candidates for New York has actively said he wants to defund and dismantle the police department,' Gamaldi said, referring to socialist Zohran Mamdani, who has been open with his anti-police rhetoric. 5 'I mean, my goodness, right now, one of the mayoral candidates for New York has actively said he wants to defund and dismantle the police department,' Gamaldi said Zohran Mamdani /X Blue cities, Gamaldi said, are worse off for driving out their police forces. 'Look at the mass exodus of experience in solving cases and experience of just mentoring the next generation of police officers,' he said. 'I mean, the damage that was done in 2020 with the defund the police movement, rhat's going to reverberate for decades. You don't just recover from something like that when you have all of that experience walking out the door.' 5 Gamaldi emphasized that the trend began after the 2020 defund the police movement. Christopher Sadowski He also pointed to better pay and other financial perks, like cities covering moving expenses, as reasons law enforcement officers are moving away from far-left areas. Ultimately, he posed a question to those who patrol the streets where they are unappreciated, saying, 'Why not leave?' Advertisement 'To anyone watching this right now,' Gamaldi said, 'if your boss was constantly telling you [that] you're doing a horrible job, and, in addition, if you were following the exact policies, training and the law of your job, and yet they are still demonizing you, still throwing you under the bus, still trying to indict you, why the hell would you stay?'
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Blue city officers flocking to cop-friendly red states, police leader says: ‘Why would anyone stay?'
Law enforcement officers in areas primarily run by Democrats continue to flock to red states for job security, better pay and bosses who will back them up, according to one police leader. Joe Gamaldi is the national vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP). He is an active lieutenant with the Houston Police Department, and he said police in blue cities are tired of facing hostility from local leaders. "What we've seen is really a mass exodus of police officers leaving far-left cities for basically greener pastures," he told Fox News Digital. "Because, ultimately, people want to feel appreciated for what they do, and when you have a boss — in this case, mayors or city councils, who regularly call you a piece of crap to the public — why would anyone stay?" Defund Movement Faces 'Absolute Rejection' As Murders Drop And Police Budgets Climb: Law Enforcement Group Florida is one example of a Republican-led state that has benefited from the mass departures. Read On The Fox News App According to a 2024 statement from former Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, the state welcomed 5,000 law enforcement recruits between 2022 and last year, and 1,200 of them came from out of state. "Florida is the most pro-law enforcement state in the nation because we back our blue," Moody said at the time. "We've been spreading the word about all the great incentives to join our ranks, and individuals like the new Sarasota recruits have answered the call, leaving behind places where their service was not as appreciated as it is here." She said she was "as inspired as ever to continue doing all we can to show our support to those who bravely protect and serve" after seeing the influx of police officers into the state. Gamaldi said officers are also moving to cities that may lean blue but are in red states and still have the support of elected leadership and the community, adding officers are "voting with their feet." "We're also seeing it [in] Texas in Houston, which is a city that leans a little blue, but they have been supportive of police officers," he said. "The mayor there has given a massive raise to police officers. You're seeing officers go there. You're seeing officers go to Dallas. So, you're seeing all these communities, and there's one common thread. It's 'We support police officers.'" Gamaldi emphasized that the trend began after the 2020 defund the police movement and said, in many cities, law enforcement officers are afraid to do their jobs in "critical incident" situations, even when they do them by the book. "I think you can look no further than Seattle, Portland, Chicago [and] New York," he said. "All of these cities have basically told their police officers, 'We don't support you. We're not gonna be there for you when you need us. We're gonna try to defund you when given the opportunity.' Trump Backs Local Police In New Executive Order, Rebukes Democrat Crime Policies That Sowed 'Chaos' Across Us "I mean, my goodness, right now, one of the mayoral candidates for New York has actively said he wants to defund and dismantle the police department," Gamaldi said, referring to socialist Zohran Mamdani, who has been open with his anti-police rhetoric. Blue cities, Gamaldi said, are worse off for driving out their police forces. "Look at the mass exodus of experience in solving cases and experience of just mentoring the next generation of police officers," he said. "I mean, the damage that was done in 2020 with the defund the police movement, rhat's going to reverberate for decades. You don't just recover from something like that when you have all of that experience walking out the door." He also pointed to better pay and other financial perks, like cities covering moving expenses, as reasons law enforcement officers are moving away from far-left areas. Ultimately, he posed a question to those who patrol the streets where they are unappreciated, saying, "Why not leave?" "To anyone watching this right now," Gamaldi said, "if your boss was constantly telling you [that] you're doing a horrible job, and, in addition, if you were following the exact policies, training and the law of your job, and yet they are still demonizing you, still throwing you under the bus, still trying to indict you, why the hell would you stay?"Original article source: Blue city officers flocking to cop-friendly red states, police leader says: 'Why would anyone stay?'
Time of India
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Who is TikToker Justin Guzman? Influencer turns himself in after fatal Houston Galleria Mall shooting; check his net worth
Justin Guzman , a popular American TikToker , has been arrested for his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting incident inside a parking garage near Houston's Galleria mall. Anthony Sanders , 30, was killed in the incident, which took place in a parking garage at the Westheimer Road address around 5 p.m. on June 3, 2025, according to local media reports. Guzman, 22, the second suspect in the shooting case, turned himself in to police on Monday, June 30, 2025, and he, along with accomplice Marko Cinan, has been detained and charged with murder. The Houston Police Department (HPD) discovered Sanders with multiple gunshot wounds. He was rushed to Ben Taub General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Guzman, 22, appeared in Probable Cause Court overnight. According to news website Click 2 Houston, the court alleged that as many as 10 shots were fired by both suspects, which claimed Sanders's life. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now Undo Who Is Justin Guzman? Guzman, a resident of Houston, Texas, rose to fame and garnered a significant following on TikTok, amassing over 130,000 followers on his main account despite facing regular bans, according to the Know Your Meme website. After his main account was banned, he recently started operating through a separate one, @guzmanhimself1, where he managed to garner 52,000 followers as of July 1, 2025. Live Events As far as his content on the short video sharing website is concerned, Guzman mostly does lip dub and dance videos. He often features his friends in his videos. Besides lip dub and dance, the 22-year-old is also popular among the masses for his comedy skits, according to the Know Your Meme website. Guzman has a decent fanbase and enjoys popularity, but no information about his social media earnings or net worth is available on the internet. He has often been compared to Vector from the Despicable Me animated movie for his colorful tracksuits and his Edgar haircut.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
What happened in the Astroworld tragedy? 6 takeaways from Netflix's new 'Trainwreck 'documentary
Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy revisits the crowd crush that left 10 dead at Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival in 2021. The film claims that poor planning, ineffective stage placement, and slow responses from those in charge all exacerbated the severity of the event. Directed by Yemi Bamiro and Hannah Poulter, the documentary is now streaming on November 2021, 10 concertgoers died and hundreds were injured during a terrifying crowd crush that occurred during rapper Travis Scott's headlining set at Astroworld, an annual music festival in Houston hosted by the popular rapper. Now, roughly four years since that night, Netflix is exploring the myriad of alleged planning and personnel failures that resulted in the calamity with a new documentary, Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy. Directed by Yemi Bamiro and Hannah Poulter, the film aims to capture the horrors of the evening and the specifics of what went wrong through interviews with Astroworld staff, concertgoers, and the friends and families of victims. (The Houston Police Department released a 1,266-page report on their investigation into the tragedy in 2023. A grand jury declined to indict Travis Scott, Live Nation, and other organizers on criminal charges. In 2024, Scott and Live Nation settled wrongful death lawsuits stemming from the incident.) Approach with caution if you're claustrophobic — the film's footage of attendees crushed in the chaos is hard to stomach. It also highlights commentary from Scott Davidson, a crowd safety expert recruited to work with Live Nation, who managed the festival, in the aftermath of the tragedy. Davidson says he was given a "treasure trove" of evidence, including site plans, emails, and text messages, to help in his investigation into Astroworld's failures. "I believe Astroworld 2021 was not an accident. It was an inevitability due to a lack of foresight and the abandonment of basic safety protocols," Davidson says in the documentary, adding that he was "shocked" by what he found. Below, we unpack the biggest bombshells from Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy. Though the crush occurred during Scott's headlining set, Astroworld 2021 was a disaster from the minute the gates opened. Footage from the day in question shows attendees rushing the entrances, barreling past security, and knocking over metal detectors. While this kind of behavior isn't surprising, it's usually considered during the planning process. In the documentary, Mark Lentini, a former commander for the Houston Police Department, opines, "What was going on was so totally predictable, [but] there didn't seem to be any contingency plans or mitigating." Jackson Bush, who worked security at Astroworld 2021, says in the documentary that he was hired the evening before the festival started. He also claims that he was given no guidance onsite. "The only instructions that we had came from other workers that was working with us," he says. "They were like, 'Hey, they gonna rush the gates, so y'all be ready.'" The chaos at the entry points distracted the festival's security and attending police officers to such a degree that people without tickets began climbing fences and streaming onto the festival grounds. Several interviewees remark that this kind of chaos is to be expected at Scott's concerts. The rapper is known for riling up audiences, often encouraging them to climb onstage and bypass security. In 2015, Scott was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after telling a Lollapalooza crowd to "put a middle finger up to security right now" and leap over security barriers during his set. Scott pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one year of court supervision, according to Rolling Stone. Kirby Gladstein, a photographer who worked Astroworld, says she was told by festival organizers to "lean into the fans and the chaos." Gladstein also notes that a promo video for the 2021 festival, which is shown in the documentary, contains footage of attendees breaking down fences trying to get in. "It was stressed to us that we try and match that energy, showing how crazy it all is," she says. "That type of energy," Davidson notes, "requires a high level of planning." According to Davidson, Live Nation sold 50,000 tickets to Astroworld "before they'd worked out how this number would be able to safely view Travis' set." Later, he cites a finding that Scott's stage only had viewing capacity for just 35,000. "They planned for many thousands more people than could safely view Travis' performance," claims Davidson, who adds that the full number of attendees remains unknown since so many unticketed people managed to slip inside. Davidson also cites text message exchanges he viewed between "key members" of Live Nation management who discussed not knowing how the festival would accommodate 50,000 people. "The sellable capacity for the venue was set by SMG Global and approved by the Houston Fire Department (HFD) before tickets went on sale," reads a statement from Live Nation shown at the end of The Astroworld Tragedy. "The number of tickets sold, and attendees on site did not exceed the approved capacity." One of the biggest failures of Astroworld 2021, according to Davidson, was the placement of Scott's stage, which could only be approached from the left-hand side. Since the stage had a T-shaped barrier system that split the viewing area down the middle — a common feature of festival stages — this meant the "configuration created a trap on the left-hand side of the stage." With proper signage and security, Davidson believes audiences could have been directed to circle around the rear of the viewing area to take a spot on the right-hand side. Instead, they all piled into the left-hand side. "And so the compression just built and built where people could not escape," explains Davidson. Related: Travis Scott, Drake, Live Nation sued over 'predictable, preventable' Astroworld tragedy This was compounded by the fact that Scott's stage was used only for Scott's set, meaning a huge influx of fans all streamed towards his stage around the same time. All of the attendees appearing in the documentary recall the terror of the crowd crush, which made it difficult to move or breath. As more and more bodies compress into each other, the risk of falling and being trampled increases exponentially. Several concertgoers recount the "stacked" bodies piling up around them during Scott's set. A medical examiner concluded that all 10 Astroworld deaths were caused by compression asphyxiation. Each of them was on the left side of the stage, according to the doc. "HFD, SMG Global, and the Houston Police Department (HPD) were aware of the event plans, which were developed in line with safety codes," reads a statement from Live Nation shown in the documentary. One of the more distressing revelations in the documentary concerns allegations that Live Nation representatives understood the severity of the situation but allowed the concert to go on anyway. As Davidson puts it, a "common denominator" in the Astroworld 2021 incidents was "a failure to speak truth to power." According to Davidson, only two Live Nation representatives had the authority to stop the show in the event of an emergency. He says this is a deviation from the norm: "Any key decision maker, from police, fire, EMS, or Live Nation, should've been able to very quickly initiate a show-stop process." According to ABC News, Houston Police was aware of trampling and multiple injuries as early as 9:30 p.m. Lentini says in the documentary that law enforcement was looking for a manager from Live Nation about potentially ending or delaying the concert, but "couldn't find him." As ABC notes, Houston Police saw the concert as a potential "mass casualty event" by 9:38 p.m. Per transcripts reviewed by Davidson, a Live Nation manager allegedly spoke to the audio engineer at 9:52 p.m., ordering the concert "shut down" by 10 p.m. Davidson notes the manager was aware of the severity of the situation by that point, quoting the manager as saying they witnessed "more crush victims than I've ever seen in my 25-year career." But the concert didn't stop at 10 p.m. Instead, it went on for at least another 12 minutes. As Davidson tells it, Astroworld organizers and police worried about triggering a "crowd panic" by stopping the concert abruptly. "The idea of a performance continuing while even on CPR in progress is underway is insane. Unprecedented," he says. Davidson also cites alleged text messages between Live Nation staffers that further underscore how serious they knew the crush was becoming. "Panic in people's eyes. This could get worse quickly," reads one. "Someone's going to end up dead," reads another. "The Festival Safety & Risk Director and HPD representatives agreed to and executed an early show stop," reads a statement from Live Nation. In the aftermath of the tragedy, conspiracy theories quickly spread online and in the news media. As the BBC reported at the time, several social media posts went viral by calling the event "Satanic," speculating that the crush was part of a "ritualistic sacrifice." Another prominent theory highlighted in the documentary blamed the medical emergencies on tainted drugs being injected into concertgoers' necks with a needle. As attendees note, these theories only served to distract from the actual causes, including poor planning and slow responses by those in authority. "These people did not die from a needle in their neck," says one concertgoer in the documentary. "The answers are right there in front of you. We're telling you what happened. Why are people not hearing us?" The Astroworld Tragedy is a harrowing watch, but there is one bright spot. Early in the film, we meet Sophia, a woman who had just gotten her nursing license weeks before the concert. We also meet Arturo, who suffered a heart attack during the show and, if not for Sophia's intervention, likely would have died. Years following the concert, the two remain close. "There's no way that this all happened and we don't talk afterwards," she says. "Hopefully we're friends forever," says Arturo. Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy is currently streaming on the original article on Entertainment Weekly
