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Security Guard Kills Man Who Threatened Him With Gun

POSTED: Thursday, April 24, 2008
UPDATED: 1:09 pm CDT April 24, 2008

A security guard fatally shot a man who returned to a northwest Houston game room with a gun after they got into an argument early Thursday, police told KPRC Local 2.

Houston police said the guard stopped Martin Morales, 45, and his adult son from entering A&J Game Room on Antoine Drive near Hempstead Highway after they urinated in the parking lot while leaving a strip club.

Investigators said the guard told them he would not let Morales into the game room because he appeared to be intoxicated.

Morales intervened when his son and the guard got into a fight, officials said.

Witnesses said they thought everything was over when the guard used his pepper spray to subdue the son.

"Five minutes later, the guy, he come in with a gun," witness Martha Solno said. "He said, 'Remember, I told you I come back to kill you.'"

Witnesses said the guard gave Morales a chance to back down, but he did not take that opportunity.

"They security take the gun, too, and he say, 'Drop the gun. Drop the gun,'" Solno said. "But he don't do it. Then when he tried to shoot it, the security, he shoot it two times and he died."

Morales' friends said he will be missed.

"He was a good father. He was a great person. He was a great boss," co-worker Ariel Cardelas said. "He worked hard."

Detectives said they are working to verify that the guard was permitted to carry the weapon he used in the shooting. Investigators said the guard called police during the incident, but there was not enough time for officers to get there.

Police said they are reviewing surveillance camera videos, but it appears to have been a justified shooting.

The case will be referred to a Harris County grand jury.
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