A Houston-area middle school teacher is being hailed as a hero after stopping an attack on a 15-year-old girl in east Houston. The incident occurred just before midnight on July 28 near an apartment complex on Woodforest Boulevard.
The girl was followed off a METRO bus by a man who then assaulted her. A middle school teacher named David Garza in Houston, Texas, heroically intervened to save a 15-year-old girl from being sexually assaulted. Garza was at home when he heard the girl's screams for help. He quickly grabbed his gun and rushed outside, still in his underwear, to confront the attacker Garza grabbed his gun and rushed outside, where he confronted the suspect, who had the girl by her hair.
"I ran outside, asked what's going on. The girl screamed, 'I'm 15, help me!' I pointed the gun at him and told him to get off her," Garza said. The suspect immediately released the girl and fled the scene. Garza chased him but was unable to catch him.
A neighbor credited Garza with saving the girl from a potential tragedy, saying, "I think if he didn't come out, she would have gotten raped."
The suspect, described as wearing a black hoodie with a white Reebok logo, blue jeans, and white tennis shoes, remains at large. The Harris County Sheriff's Office is asking anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.
Andy Kahan, a victim advocate for Crime Stoppers, praised Garza's actions. "I take my hat off to you—you did the right thing," Kahan said, emphasizing the need to capture the suspect before he attacks again.
Garza, who has previously intervened to protect a child, said he would do it again without hesitation. "I think it's something anyone else would have done—come help a child," Garza stated.
