Security video captured the moment bystanders locked a stabbing suspect out of a southeast Houston convenience store.
HOUSTON — A group of quick-thinking bystanders helped prevent what could have been a much deadlier attack near a convenience store on Broadway Street, not far from Hobby Airport, on Wednesday night. While a 32-year-old woman is accused of stabbing a married couple and threatening others during a violent rampage, store managers and police say the actions of several people outside the gas station likely saved lives.
Surveillance video from the convenience store captures the moment a woman comes running toward the front of the store as the suspect approached. A man who was standing outside at the time heard the warning first.
“One of the homeless guys came running up to me and said, ‘Hey, there’s the lady with the knife, she’s stabbing everybody,’ and I saw her running with the knife.”
The man, who asked not to be identified or shown on camera, said he immediately started directing people inside.
“I told them, ‘Get inside, everybody get inside.'”
They did. The man held the door while the store clerk locked it shut. Store managers said Thursday that his fast reaction kept everyone inside the store safe.
Javon Latriece Alix, 32, is charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. According to police, she tried to force her way into the locked store but was unable to get inside. She eventually moved on.
HPD Lt. R. Wilkens described how the threat continued even after those inside the store were safe.
“She actually told them she was going to stab them if they didn’t run, so they started running. Luckily, they made it up into the apartment complex and got inside their apartment before she could get them.”
Not everyone escaped unharmed. A woman was stabbed three times in the stomach, and her husband was stabbed twice in the stomach and once in the back. Both were taken to the hospital and are expected to survive.
Kahli McQuitty, who lives at the nearby apartment complex and watched police work the scene, summed up the fear many residents felt.
“It was dark. She was running around stabbing people, man. This is not good.”
The store’s owner told reporters the Broadway location is the most dangerous of all his stores across the city. Alix was taken into custody at the scene without incident. Investigators say she may have been experiencing a mental health crisis and are still working to determine what triggered the attack.
As for the unidentified man who helped shepherd people to safety, he was modest about his role.
“I just did what I had to do.”
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