HOUSTON – A school security guard fired at a vehicle Tuesday after the driver tried to run him over, according to authorities. The man who was shot at later called KPRC on his way to turn himself in.
The incident was reported about 2:30 p.m. at The Village School near Whittington and Westmead drives.
Authorities said 42-year-old Steven de la Torre was driving a black Expedition with a camper attached when a security guard recognized the vehicle.
"He was actually stopped in the public roadway. As he approached, the security guard recognized the vehicle and blocked the entrance with his vehicle and he was stopped in the public roadway,” said Constable Ted Heap.
According to Harris County Precinct 5 deputy constables, de la Torre had a restraining order against him.
"The restraining order is referencing a male coach who is an employee here,” said Heap.
Authorities said it’s unclear if de la Torre violated the 500-foot rule condition of the restraining order, which is under investigation.
Heap said when the security guard approached de la Torre, he started driving and tried to run over the security guard, who then fired several times at de la Torre’s vehicle. The security guard was hit by de la Torre's vehicle and suffered minor injuries, according to officials.
De la Torre called KPRC on Tuesday afternoon after the incident. He said he was on his way to turn himself in to authorities. He recounted the situation at the school earlier in the day and said he didn't understand why the security guard fired shots at him.
He said he was making videos: “I started doing memoirs that I was going to post to Facebook and YouTube so I can stay in contact with my kids because I’ve been completely cut off from them."
He said he was near the school, but claims he did not violate the restraining order.
“Well, first off I asked them if I was on their property and they told me, ‘yes’ and I knew that I wasn’t, but they had blocked me with their police car, or their security guard car,” said de la Torre over the phone. “I thought I pulled past and I was just making a video for my kids, you know, if you let me, I’m just going to go.”
The father of two said the security guard confronted him about the restraining order, but claims he was not on their property.
“Then I heard on the dispatch they said, ‘You have to move your car out of the way, you’re on a public road.’ I knew that they had lied to me and the combination of being lied to and that energy, my car put itself in gear. I know it was my hand that did it, but it put itself in gear and I started to creep out of the way,” de la Torre said.
He claims a guard jumped in front of his car and says he did not hit the security personnel.
“He moved out of the way and his buddy yelled, ‘Dude, did you just run him over?’ I clearly didn’t. There’s no hand prints, no damage to my car, nothing. And then, three shots were fired,” de la Torre said.
He said he feared for his life and didn’t stop driving until he got close to Austin. He said he then called police to explain what happened and wanted to speak with them, so he started driving back to Houston to turn himself in.
Around 6:30 p.m., de la Torre's vehicle was seen pulling into Precinct 5 headquarters in west Harris County. He was taken into custody and authorities were seen inspecting his vehicle. Several bullet holes were visible on the bottom of his vehicle, near the driver side. He was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
De la Torre told KPRC that he has a traumatic brain injury and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. He said he has Alzheimer’s and dementia and said he got his injuries from playing football in high school and college, a car crash and family matters. He told KPRC he’s worried about his kids playing sports and concerned they will end up like him with a brain injury.
When asked about the restraining order, de la Torre said it had to do with the basketball coach and a confrontation. His ex-wife also filed a restraining order against de la Torre, which is currently going through the court process, according to Heap.