Without David Garza, a young girl might have died — and would certainly have been a victim of a far greater crime than she already was.
According to KHOU-TV, Garza is a middle school teacher and resident of an apartment complex in Houston where a young girl was walking to her friend’s place just before midnight on July 28.
She wasn’t alone as she left the METRO bus, however. The 15-year-old was followed by a man into the complex — and he started attacking her.
“I looked out the window and I saw a man beating up a woman on the ground … trying to take her clothes off,” Garza told the station.
Garza may not have had any clothes but his boxers on at the time, but it didn’t take him long to hop out of the house with his gun in hand.
“I ran outside, asked what’s going on. The girl screamed, ‘I’m 15, help me!’ I pointed the gun at him and told him to get off her,” Garza said.
The suspect reportedly had the girl by the hair; a neighbor said without intervention, she likely would be sexually assaulted.
“At first, I was scared, I thought she was going to get raped,” the unidentified neighbor said. “I think if he didn’t come out, she would have gotten raped.”
What did the suspect do instead, thanks to the gun?
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“He took his hands off right away. He went chasing after her, I went chasing after him and she got away,” Garza told the station.
According to a Wednesday report from KHOU, a man has been arrested and accused of the crime, Crime Stoppers of Houston told them.
“It’s unclear when the suspect was taken into custody and his name has not been released,” the outlet reported.
“It’s also unclear what charges he will face in connection with the incident.”
However, one thing is made clear by doorbell footage of Garza’s intervention: This would have been a lot uglier had Garza not gotten involved
As for the suspect, before his arrest, Andy Kahan — a victim advocate for Crime Stoppers of Houston — told KHOU that the brazen nature of the crime likely made the perpetrator extremely dangerous.
“If he’s willing to do this, it makes me wonder — is this your first time? We need to get you off the streets,” Kahan said.
He added this salute to Garza, however: “I take my hat off to you. You did the right thing.”
“I was scared, too, I’m not going to lie,” Garza said. “But she needed help more than I was afraid, so I had to do it.”
And, indeed, his quick thinking — and his right to bear arms — likely precluded a sickening assault and led to the arrest of a suspect. Our hats are off to you indeed, Mr. Garza.
