HOUSTON – A 70-year-old pool hall owner shot an intruder early Thursday morning after the man allegedly charged at him with a crowbar during a break-in attempt on the 7200 block of North Shepard.
The incident happened around 2 a.m.
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Houston Police Department Lt. Wilkens said officers responded to a shooting scene at the pool hall, but when first units arrived, the suspects had already fled.
The pool hall owner told police he heard banging at the back of his business and went outside armed with a pistol. A lookout working with the intruders reportedly yelled to warn a second suspect — who was positioned at the rear of the building with a crowbar — just as the owner confronted him.
“The intruder started charging at me with a crowbar,” the owner said.
The owner discharged his firearm, striking the intruder in the leg. The second suspect fled the scene on foot.
The shooting victim, a man believed to be in his 20s, was not found at the pool hall. A nearby Jack in the Box restaurant called 911 after the wounded man showed up on their property. Officers located him there and he was taken for treatment.
The pool hall owner told police he believes the break-in was targeted. He had recently hired a contractor to dismount several televisions inside the business and suspects the contractor may have tipped off the intruders.
“He thinks the contractor told the intruders it would be an easy grab,” Lt. Wilkens said.
No arrests had been announced as of early Thursday morning. The investigation remains ongoing.