Fourteen people have been arrested for looting in the Houston area over the past 48 hours, as floodwaters from Harvey continue to devastate the region.
Prosecutors on Tuesday promised the harshest penalties under the law for anyone caught looting during the disaster – and that’s if angry, armed homeowners don’t get to the crooks first.
‘You loot, I shoot,’ promised one spray-painted sign in a residential neighborhood of Portland, Texas, a small city right outside of Corpus Christi on the Gulf coast.
‘If I needed to shoot somebody to protect my stuff if they broke into my house, I think that’s appropriate,’ one mother in the neighborhood told KIII, asking not to be identified.
The non-profit relief group StormPoint posted this picture on Tuesday in Houston, with the caption: ‘We’ve seen some looting in some places. Sad that people want to make a bad situation worse’
These Houston residents posted this picture on Monday vowing unpleasant consequences for anyone who loots during the flood or shoots at rescuers
‘We’re in a state of disaster,’ she said.
‘When you have people that have lost everything, you need food, you need clothes, people get desperate and you go into that kind of mindset,’ the mother said.
So far, looting has not been as rampant as in disasters like Hurricane Katrina in 2005, although on Monday there were unconfirmed reports of looters shooting at volunteer rescue boats.
A Houston police union official said that looters had shot at police and firefighters conducting rescue operation
Prosecutors in Houston issued a statement promising that looters would face enhanced penalties under Texas law for committing burglaries during a crisis.
Floodwaters in Houston are seen on Tuesday. Officials have vowed harsh penalties for looters
‘People displaced or harmed in this storm are not going to be easy prey,’ Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement.
‘Anyone who tries to take advantage of this storm and break into homes or businesses should know that they are going to feel the full weight of the law,’ she said.
‘Offenders will be processed around the clock without delay.’
In Houston’s Highland Village neighborhood, the college newspaper The Venture tweeted a photo of an Apple Store with damage to the door, saying that the doors ‘appear to have been shot at with a firearm. Looters have been rampant.’
‘Employees say not the first time targeted by looters,’ the newspaper added.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Houston police chief Art Acevedo put criminals on notice and said he would seek that they be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
As Houston struggles with the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, lawmakers in Texas are vowing to be extra tough on anyone caught looting after authorities reported some minor thefts and armed robberies had taken place. Above an aerial view of the Addicks reservoir on Tuesday
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez also warned people bent on trying to take advantage of those who are victims in the horrific storm to think twice in the tweet above
During a press conference on Tuesday, Houston police chief Art Acevedo put criminals on notice and said he would seek that they be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law
‘We’re going to urge juries and judges to give you the most, the toughest sentence that you can possibly get,’ Acevedo said.
‘We’re going to push hard so that you don’t see the sunlight anytime soon.’
He added, ‘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 revealed that authorities had already arrested three looters on Monday night at a Game Stop video game store.
He also said some armed robbers who were accosting residents were apprehended as well.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez also warned people bent on trying to take advantage of those who are victims in the horrific storm to think twice.
‘To the crooks out there, be warned,’ Gonzalez said in a tweet. ‘No looting & burglaries. We will not have it. My jail is open and you will be arrested and charged,’ he wrote.
