Homeowners shoot dead two men claiming to be cops, wearing fake badges and bullet proof vests

An incident involving fake police ended with real consequences and became a cautionary tale when a Texas homeowner “became suspicious” Friday night.

(Video Credit: KHOU 11)

The latest instance of gunfire in Houston, Texas, was anything but routine for a community reportedly accustomed to the sounds of violence in their area. The unusual circumstances were precisely what led to a homeowner exchanging fire with two masked men claiming to be police, leading to the deaths of both impostors.

According to the Houston Police Department (HPD), officers responded to the scene in the southeast of the city after reports of an attempted home invasion and shots fired, where they found the two men wearing masks, bulletproof vests, and some kind of badges around their necks. Attempts to provide life-saving aid proved futile as both of the unidentified men were pronounced dead at the scene.

Explaining what was known about the circumstances that led up to the fatal exchange of gunfire, HPD Lt. Amber Khan spoke with the media and detailed how the incident that took place around 11 p.m. raised red flags for the homeowner.

“They became suspicious because, you know, they have a Ring camera too, and the suspects were stating they had a warrant. But, you know, it was just two people, and they’re masked up and no police cars, no lights or anything like that,” she said. “So, they became suspicious. And thankfully, no one else was hurt.”

(Video Credit: KHOU 11)

Reports indicated that the masked men had opened fire, shooting the homeowner’s door before he returned fire in defense of himself, his wife, and their child — all of whom were said to have been unharmed.

HPD Detective Kyle Stringer told the media, “They did identify themselves as police, yelling ‘police,’ knocking on the door, saying they had an arrest warrant. And, yeah, the homeowner just did not believe them.”

According to a neighbor who preferred to remain anonymous, despite the all-too common sound of gunfire in the area, this incident was different because of “how close it was and how many [shots] it was. That’s when I hid. I said, ‘Don’t let it come here.’

As reports attested to the sound of around 22 gunshots, the detective also addressed the inherent threat posed to police officers in the law enforcement community at large, “because, you know, people could just think we are impostors when we are not impostors. And it could turn very sour for us very quickly.”

In order to avoid any such confusion, Stringer advised the public to look for specific signs to confirm that someone claiming to represent a law enforcement agency actually was who they claimed to be. He told KHOU 11 to look for “Obviously, a police car with some sort of lights and sirens and a bullhorn where we’ll be announcing ourselves.”