Posted on 03/14/2006 11:05:31 AM PST by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin
Two men were known to have been wounded and at least 21 suspected illegal immigrants were taken into custody today after a wild shoutout in a southwest Houston neighborhood. Houston police and federal immigration agents were still combing the neighborhood – in and near the Larkwood subdivision – searching for others who fled after the gunfire erupted in the 9000 block of Sandpiper about 9 a.m. The shooting occurred in and near a house that appears to have been used as a "drop house," where smugglers are believed to have held illegal immigrants until relatives could pay their smuggling fees.
One of the wounded men, who appeared to have been shot several times, was found inside the house at 9011 Sandpiper and was undergoing surgery at Memorial Hermann Hospital. The other wounded man, who was shot in the foot, was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital. Witnesses said another man was wounded during the gunbattle, but others carried him to a van and he was driven away. Authorities were still searching for the van. Witnesses told Houston police they heard gunshots and saw some men running around inside the house. Police said at least six men ran out the back, jumped over a fence and ran several blocks along concrete-lined Bintliff Ditch, but officers caught them.
Police found a Chinese version of an AK-47 assault rifle inside the house. Luisa Deason, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said agents suspect that the address was used as a drop house because it has no furniture, the windows are boarded up and the house is littered with fast-food wrappers and other trash. Authorities suspect that the gunbattle may have occurred as one or more "coyotes," or immigrant smugglers, tried to steal illegal immigrants from another coyote so they could collect the smuggling fees. At least some of those taken into custody are from El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico and Guatemala, Deason said. Patricia Demerson, 35, said she was at home with her son when she heard gunshots and looked out her kitchen window at the house across the street. Demerson, who works as a prison guard, said she saw men running to a Lincoln Navigator in the driveway as the gunfire continued. One man fell, but other men picked him up and put him in the Navigator, she said.
A short time later, Demerson said, a black pickup drove up and more gunfire erupted as another man ran from the house, jumped into the truck and it drove away. Neighbors said they had thought that two men and a woman had moved into the house recently. "I was really scared to know there was a shootout right across the street," Demerson said. "They just moved in a couple of weeks ago. I hope this is it. I'm not sure if there are gangs or drugs or what."
I'm not sure... it seems to me that the real issue is: "What the heck is a Chinese AK-47 doing in the hands of illegal immigrants."
Let's change this. What do you think would happen to an illegal in China with an American gun?
Or Mexico same scenario?
...those undocumented workers not involved in the shooting were released at the neighborhood Home Depot.
Haaa ha ha...about right.
Everyone's memory is short. I remember when the Premier of China's son was outted shipping shoulder held missle launchers, rpg's, AK47's, grenades, into the USofA to be passed out to not only Chinese gangs, but box cars of the stuff were left on rail road tracks in neighborhoods like Wats so other gangs could get their hands on this stuff Weird that you say that because that always sticks in the back of my mind. I never knew the full story but I remember reading probably about 6 years ago the Chinese had a plan to flood our inner cities with guns and weapons.
31 posted on 11/26/2003 9:18:08 AM PST by riri (I dig this new spellcheck feature)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1028853/posts
Those Katrina "victims" and "refugees" have gone too far now!
U.S. Department of Justice
United States Attorney
Northern District of California
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 23, 1996
MASSIVE SEIZURE OF NEW AUTOMATIC WEAPONS
ILLEGALLY SMUGGLED BY PRC WEAPONS PRODUCERS
SAN FRANCISCO - Michael J. Yamaguchi, United States Attorney
for the Northern District of California; Rollin B. Klink, Special
Agent in Charge, United States Customs Service, San Francisco; and
Paul Snabel, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
and Firearms, announced today the largest seizure of fully
operational automatic weapons in the history of U. S. law
enforcement. The weapons were illegally smuggled into the United
States from the People's Republic of China (PRC) during the course
of a federal investigation of an alleged arms trafficking conspiracy
involving Chinese nationals, Chinese resident aliens, and U. S.
citizens, a number of whom represented PRC owned and controlled
munitions manufacturing facilities. The illegal importation of the
weapons into the United States is in violation of the Presidential
Embargo on the importation of weapons and munitions designated on
the United States Munitions List, and U. S. law regarding the
importation, possession, and sale of illegal weapons.
On March 18, 1996, agents of the United States Customs Service
and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms seized 2000 AK-47
type fully automatic 7.62mm machine guns. These are military
assault weapons commonly used by the military around the world.
The weapons, which had both Chinese (Norinco) and Korean
markings, had been smuggled into the United States in a container on
board the COSCO ship, Empress Phoenix. Included with the
weapons were approximately 4000 30-40 round ammunition
magazines. It is estimated that the weapons had a street value of more
than four million dollars.
The seizure of the weapons was the culmination of a sixteen month
investigation of high ranking officials, based in both the United
States and the PRC, of POLYTECH and NORINCO, PRC
controlled munitions manufacturing corporations. Hammond KU,
age 49, a Taiwanese resident alien, residing in Soquel, California,
first came under suspicion when information was developed that he
had several thousand Chinese manufactured weapons, in crate.
labelled POLYTECH and NORINCO, stored in his warehouse in
Soquel, California. KU paid federal agent-, acting in an undercover
capacity, to illegally import into the United States, more than 20,000
AK 47 rifle bipods.
On May 22, 1996, Customs and ATF agents arrested seven
individuals and executed search warrants at eight locations
throughout Northern California. Arrested were: Hammond H. KU,
age 49, of San Jose, CA; Richard CHEN, 65, of Aptos, CA; Ching
Hua CHEN, 68, of Aptos, CA; Susan Hong LIN, 39, of San Jose,
CA; Kenneth Frank TAYLOR, 40, of Carmichael, CA; Linda Wei
Lin HUANG, 55, of Atherton, CA.; and Kai Wan (Kevin) WONG,
36, of Hayward, CA. Arrest warrants have been issued for Bao Ping
(Robert) MA, 44 of Los Altos, CA.; and six Chinese nationals
including several high ranking officials of NORINCO.
These smugglers are sneaky....I've been living in a "drop house," all these years and didn't even know it!!
I swear, between the huge number of Katrina bums and criminals moving to Houston and the constant daily flood of illegal immigrants, this city is on life support.
Our city services are maxed out because of manpower shortages thanks to the new and improved crime rate that has soared 20% over last year.
They're just using the AK-47s that Americans won't use.
Please be careful as you read what Police, the MSM and State & Federal governments say regarding weapons. They, generally speaking, have very limited knowledge of weapons and usually try to associate the worst sounding or looking options to each crime. You ever notice on a TV news story that they always picture guns or misidentify guns, even when the crime may not be gun related? The story didn't say that the people were illegals, just that they were probably smugglers of illegal aliens, yes a US citizen could be doing this. Secondly, very few realize that a weapon that looks like an AK47 or an AK74, is generally speaking, not an AK weapon. Most of them are actually semi-automatic copies of AK's that are completely legal to own in the US. They are also not machine guns - they are actually semi-autiomactic rifles!!! There is a huge difference between machine guns, sub-machine guns, automatic rifles and semi-automatic rifles. But once again the police and the MSM want guns and gun owners highlighted in the worst light possible on every story.
If I were Ms Demerson, I'd get the heck outta Dodge! I can't believe they identified this neighbor by name, and pointed out that she lives right across the street from the "drop house". Seems to me that she is now a target for "ratting" to the police.
See post # 6.
That neighborhood is a rathole of illegals, lower-class sucm, etc. Everyone knows it.
I wasn't worried about them being automatic... I was more worried about smugglers being supplied arms by some Chinese source.
Nice post!
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