An alleged robbery-turned-police-shooting in Houston last Thursday resulted in one suspect gaining access to a local high school after fleeing from police.
Mahamoudou Sylla, 18, is currently being held at Harris County Jail on one count of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon and one count of “Robbery-Threats.” He has been denied bail, according to jail records.
Sylla and two other suspects, identified by the Houston Police Department (HPD) as John Nsenguwera, 18, and Mohamed Rasheed Robinson, 17, were allegedly spotted by local law enforcement while committing a robbery at an apartment complex.
Police engaged the subjects, which is when Nsenguwera allegedly pointed a gun at officers, prompting law enforcement to fire on him. Both Nsenguwera and Robinson were arrested at the scene, with the former having sustained a non-life-threatening injury, according to a news release by the HPD.
Sylla, however, was able to evade capture at the scene and managed to hitch a ride to Wisdom High School from an unsuspecting motorist. HPD Chief Troy Finner claimed that the motorist did not know Sylla was a suspect in a crime. Instead, he “thought he was giving a kid a ride back to the school,” according to KHOU 11.
Houston ISD Police Department (HISDPD) Chief Pedro Lopez told Fox 26 that Sylla was a student at Wisdom High and that Sylla did not enter the school through a side door but followed entry procedures, signing in with administrators who buzzed him through the front door.
HPD reportedly contacted HISDPD and informed them that Sylla was a suspect in a robbery. Administrators placed the campus on lockdown, and police moved to arrest Sylla.
“We were able with our SWAT teams and other police officers, went in and got that suspect out safely with no one hurt,” said Finner, per CBS 11. Following a search, police were unable to find a firearm on Sylla or at the school.
While Houston has always been a high-crime city, Dallas has seen its own surge in violent crime in recent weeks as City leaders continue to struggle to get lawlessness under control.
According to the City of Dallas Open Data crime analytics dashboard, overall reported violent crime is up 8.7% year-to-date compared to the same period in 2022, with more than 1,100 aggravated assaults, robberies, murders, and sexual assaults logged since the beginning of the new year.
