HOUSTON – A Taco Poncho's manager, a workman repairing a deep fryer and a female employee were all
in the taco stand at 10303 Airline Drive Tuesday around 9:45 p.m. when two armed robbers entered the trailer and demanded money and wallets from them.
Police said one robber struck the manager in the head with his pistol, causing a laceration.
"They hit me in the eye. It's pretty swollen right now," said owner Daniel Salinas.
Investigators said one of the robbers then shot the repairman in his arm when he did not comply fast enough with their demands.
The victim's gunshot wound was not life-threating and was later released from a hospital.
The two robbers then fled the trailer, running west on Memory Lane toward Interstate 45 north.
Salinas told Local 2 he's been the victim of violent crime before. He said he was shot in the arm during a robbery at his taco stand last year. And even though he's had two robberies in two years, Salinas said he refuses to move his business elsewhere.
"We have to work. We have to survive," Salinas said.
The two robbers are described as black men in their early 20s, both with thin builds. They were wearing black T-shirts with blue jeans and black-and-white bandanas covering their faces.
Anyone with information about the identity or location of the robbers is asked to call Crime Stoppers of Houston at 713-222-TIPS or submit a tip via the iWatchHarrisCounty phone app.
The Harris County Sheriff's Office offers special awareness and safety training to mobile food vendors in Harris County in an effort to create a safe environment for all mobile-business operators.
Mobile-business operators wanting to learn more about the HCSO's Mobile Food Vendors on Patrol program should contact the HCSO's Crime Prevention Division at 713-759-9454.