The number of calls deputies say they have received about gatherings at a North Harris County shopping-center lot is small beside the danger residents describe: bullets have struck two nearby homes. Residents of Lincoln Green Estates say the gatherings at the Food Town lot along the North Beltway have become a safety concern; the lot is across Greens Bayou. ABC13 Houston reported both the residents’ accounts and the sheriff’s office response.
One resident told ABC13 that two houses had been hit by bullets, one of them twice. He described a round passing through a picture frame and two rooms. He said the gatherings began in March and sometimes brought 30 to 50 cars, and that he now calls law enforcement when he hears music start because he fears gunfire may follow. Those details come from the resident’s account to the station; they are not an independently established count of incidents.
Residents and deputies describe different patterns
The accounts differ on when the gatherings happen. Residents told ABC13 they occur most weeks, starting late Thursday night. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said most takeovers occur late Sunday nights and that it had received four calls about them since the previous month. The report does not resolve the discrepancy or establish how often gatherings went unreported.
Deputies also conducted an enforcement operation at the lot in September, according to ABC13. Deputies said they saw two people running with guns; one was caught after jumping into Greens Bayou, and both were charged with evading arrest. The sheriff’s office said it would continue targeting the area. Food Town did not respond to ABC13’s request for comment.
A regional enforcement figure offers context, not a local tally
A separate regional operation shows the scale of traffic enforcement aimed at related conduct, but does not indicate how many takeovers occurred or were stopped at Food Town. KHOU 11 reported that officers made 340 traffic stops during the first night of an operation targeting racing, reckless driving, and street and parking-lot takeovers. That figure covers traffic stops during the regional operation; it is not a measure of outcomes at this lot or evidence that takeover activity is increasing.
For Lincoln Green Estates, the unresolved question is whether continued enforcement will address what residents say they experience at the Food Town lot. The reported four calls and September operation describe parts of the response, but the available account does not show whether gatherings have stopped or how often they recur.
