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Crime

They Never Learn: Burglar Breaks Into Texas Home, Leaves With Gunshot Wounds Instead of Loot

Mar. 14, 2013 10:30pm Jason Howerton

Texas Homeowner Shoots Burglar in North Harris County

A homeowner grabbed a pistol and opened fire on a man, who he said broke into in his north Harris County home last night. (KTRK-TV)

With all the news reports of armed Texans defending their homes from intruders, one would think that burglars would think twice before entering a home unwelcome in the Lone Star State. Criminals may learn from others’ mistakes someday, but not today.

A Texas man on Wednesday night was awoken by a noise in the downstairs of his Houston home, KTRK-TV reports. What he found was a home intruder, later identified as 20-year-old Cecilio Semis, Jr.

Armed with a handgun — though it is not clear what kind — the homeowner, Travis McNeal, confronted the burglar and, feeling threatened, shot Semis twice, striking him in the ribs and chest.

McNeal then called 911 and paramedics took the suspect to Ben Taub hospital, where he was listed in stable condition Thursday. He is extremely lucky to be alive.

Police say the homeowner’s wife and kids weren’t home during the home invasion. He is not expected to face charges as investigators believe it was a legitimate case of self-defense.

KHOU-TV has more, including an interview with the suspect’s father:

In CONTROL, Glenn Beck presents a passionate, fact-based case for guns that reveals why gun control isn’t really about controlling guns at all; it’s about controlling us. Find out more HERE.

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Comments (92)

Helen Hyde
Posted on March 15, 2013 at 7:04am
I am up early, heard some unusual noises. Dont think it is anything, but I am ready with the Judge just in case.
You did the right thing Mr. McNeal, except next time keep shooting till its empty.
The congressional morons can posture all they want, wasting time and money not doing their jobs, but they will never stop a good man or woman from defending themselves.

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- pavnvet
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 9:34am
  The homeowner did the right thing by not “to keep shooting.” As much as you may want this criminal to be dead, the law states you can only use enough force to stop the threat. Beyond that it is an execution. There have been several convictions where the defender kept shooting and wound up in prison for a very long time. If you own a firearm, know how to use it and know the law.
  
  I guess we will not see Jesse Sr. or Al Sharpton as this looks like a black on brown Hispanic crime.
  
  Report this comment
- 00100111
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 9:55am
  Another dead home invader. Oh well…
  
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- busterpuddles
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 11:17am
  I guess PAVNVET is right about one thing. Mr. McNeal should’ve spent a little more time at the range so he wouldn’t have had to use that many bullets. Don’t empty the gun on one person. Make the first one count. One shot, one kill. Save the rest for the next immigrants that see your property as an “opportunity”.
  
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- turkey13
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 11:55am
  Holder is sending his folks there right now, since it appears he didn’t say “HALT” 3 times.and the young man was African American. It would have been all right if he was white.
  
  Report this comment
Willik
Posted on March 15, 2013 at 5:35am
Mr. McNeal, get thee to a firing range! You need some practice for kill shots in order to reduce the gene pool of these Alfa Hotels from a law abiding society.
Now this miscreant will go into the prison system and become a hardened criminal, an ‘education’ which Texas tax payers will have to pay.
I cannot see any ‘rehabilation’ taking place for this law breaker. He’ll be armed for his next home invasion. It’s the only ‘lesson’ he’s learned.

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- jcldwl
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 8:06am
  It’s statements like yours that make it obvious you have no idea what a real world shooting is like. Have you ever had your adrenaline pumping so hard you could hear your own heartbeat? He hit the man in the chest and ribs. He did a great job. So the man is still alive. That just shows you that not all gun shots kill. Do you think he should have aimed for his head, which most likely would have resulted in him missing the target. He obviously fired at center mass which is what we should all do to ensure a hit that will stop the threat. If the threat dies they die, but the point is to stop the threat. Your comments and that of Helen Hyde are the comments that people use to say we the legal gun owners just want to kill people.
  @ Helen Hyde
  You shoot to stop the threat. Once the threat is no longer there. ie. shot in the chest laying on the ground bleeding and posing no further threat, you call 911 and either render aid or keep the suspect covered until police arrive. There is no need to continue shooting after that. What you risk in that case is an overzealous liberal prosecutor willing to make an example of you by proving you continued to shoot after the the suspect was on the ground and injured to the point of no longer being a threat. This could most certainly lead to charges against you so why risk it. Think people think don’t give them anything to use against you for defending yourself.
  
  Report this comment
- captquest
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 8:30am
  I understand what JCDLWL is trying to tell you. There’s a great book by Massad Ayoob called StressFire that explains the experience of having to shoot some one and how to prepare for it. When asked “why did you shoot him twelve times? best answer, “because I ran out of ammo”.
  
  Report this comment
- Firefight
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 9:57am
  JCDLWL you’re absolutely right. there is a world of difference between shooting paper at the range and defensive training. not to belittle range practice because it’s vitally important, but “Aim small. Miss small.” Center mass has the largest surface area which makes it easier to hit, especially under extreme stress.
  
  CAPTQUEST In FL in 2006 a cop killer was shot 68 times by the Polk County SWAT and when the press asked the Sheriff Grady Judd why did they shoot him so many times he said “That’s all the bullets we had, or we would have shot him more,”
  
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- glassaudioguy
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 8:55pm
  I’ve got some old ammo I should probably use up, but then it’s all 9mm stuff and I don’t know if I could get any to replace it, or afford it if it were available.
  
  Report this comment
Seagal45
Posted on March 15, 2013 at 4:07am
Too bad he didn’t kill him instead of wounding him. These people breaking into houses deserve it all.

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- Baddoggy
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 5:08am
  The hospital name is Ben Taub Hospital ….When I lived in Houston we called it Ben Shot Hospital…
  
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LeadNotFollow
Posted on March 15, 2013 at 2:09am
If the homeowner had used a Joe Biden double barrel shotgun, the thief would be on a slab in the morgue, with a turkey platter sized hole through his chest.

Hope the thief learned a lesson, and goes straight.

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Eyeball
Posted on March 15, 2013 at 2:06am
Burgler shot! I love stories with happy endings.

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- Black Tiger
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 3:08am
  Me too, but this one is not so happy, since the thief is still stealing oxygen.
  
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Nabuquduriuzhur
Posted on March 15, 2013 at 1:32am
re: Briancito

Absolutely wrong. Panama, like most of south America except Chile, has much higher crime rates for violent crime than the United States.

“Lured”? No. When a person is raised without morals, such as most persons from the Valley of Mexico south, and they come here, to a nation that still has some semblance of the Rule of Law, they get into trouble. Just by coming here, they break 4 Commandments at the minimum: stealing, lying, coveting, and having a god before God (usually money).

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Mornwood
Posted on March 15, 2013 at 1:24am
Chalk another one up for the good guys.

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- G-WHIZ
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 10:17am
  Ooooh–Noooooo!! You said: “CHALK”!! That means you have the materials to “draw” a gun!!! The O’BeriSoetoro/FEDS are at your door to imprison you without facts and incommunicado for the rest of your life!!
  
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Beachmastermax
Posted on March 15, 2013 at 1:17am
Why don’t one of you Blaze reporters earn your keep or try to break away from the pack by getting this kid on tape from his hospital bed saying…”He really supports Senator Fienstiens efforts at gun control now!”.

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- ShamanWorld
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 8:49am
  You’re giving CNN ideas Beachmaster…That’ll be the day if the media ever tries to pull that one. But seeing how desperate the politicians and media are lately, you’re comment is likely prophetic.
  
  Report this comment
- docvet
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 3:48pm
  Note that the father wasn’t allowed to see his son. The odds of a reporter talking to the kid is minimal.
  
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Briancito
Posted on March 15, 2013 at 1:05am
Mr. Semis seems to have brought his sons to a high crime country where many young immigrant men get lured into crime. Perhaps in Panama this might not have happened. But kudos to Travis McNeal for being able and willing to defend himself and his home. Obama and Feinstein hate these Texans.

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banjarmon
Posted on March 15, 2013 at 12:58am
Gun control gives crooks religion…It make them holey!

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snufy
Posted on March 15, 2013 at 12:13am
That punk wasn’t as lucky as he thought.

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Bonnieblue2A
Posted on March 15, 2013 at 12:03am
That’s one way to burn the bridge to citizenship. Would he have been eligibe, prior to this incident, for the fast track under Obama’s DREAMer Amnesty?

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- kaydeebeau
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 6:39am
  What makes you think that he isn’t still on the fast track – since O doesn’t care a wit about criminal behavior being an impediment to citizenship? O ordered the release of – what 11,000 criminals from ICE detention, he allows untold millions of criminals who broke into America to wander unhindered thru the streets – O is the chief criminal in our country…Birds of a feather
  
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- 700P
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 7:48am
  He knows they are his constituents
  
  Report this comment
cemerius
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:49pm
Must have been a .22 or .380…..if it were a .45 or higher this “kid” would be in the morgue. I feel for this kids father he seems like a well educated guy that is having the same problem we are ALL having with his son’s generation…apathy and entitlement regardless of the color of their skins!!

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- spirited
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 1:27am
  It’s a shame that the father works….to give his sons “anything they want” only to find out that one is a thief. Hopefully, after some jail time he’ll straighten out. (?)
  
  While me, me, me is the common mentality of many of today’s youth…
  >NOT all people have thievery and thuggery problems with their 19 year old children..
  
  Report this comment
- HickoryStonewall
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 10:13am
  not so >22 or >380 will roll around and not come out, probably a >38, what I want to know is what is a Hatian doing in texas?
  
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ChiefGeorge
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:43pm
Its a great teaching moment!

I think I’ll have to take that bird shot out of my registered shot gun and replace it with standard shot. I want to be humane, but I want to also teach a good lesson when someone decides that they need to test the lock strength of my front door or my window glass breaking pressure.

Remember! The US Flags outside signal a gun inside.

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- brother_ed
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 1:15am
  @CHIEFGEORGE
  
  “Remember! The US Flags outside signal a gun inside.”
  
  Classic!
  
  And if there is also a Texas flag flying, there are more than one ;)
  
  Report this comment
moonlight on the bay
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:33pm
Burglar left with lead instead of loot!

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Smokey_Bojangles
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:28pm
He should have fired a shot gun out of the window then peed,vomited,pooped,then screamed “I HAVE HERPES!”

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- spirited
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 1:13am
  Very good BOJANGLES !!!
  
  ~>lol
  
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- minorityconservative2
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 7:14am
  Wow! You forgot that he should have used an ink pen.
  
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GetMyGun
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:23pm
Should’ve pulled that trigger a few more times,better still…buy a shot gun, semi-auto w/ 000 buckshot

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piper60
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:21pm
If Feinstein had her way, the homeowner would be the one in the hospital.

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RJJinGadsden
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:16pm
Well, don’t mess with Texas….or Alabama!

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armymp
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:01pm
So is “teen” a new euphemism / politically correct term for “black”?

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- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:18pm
  McClellan or Leonard Wood?
  
  Report this comment
- The-Monk
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:21pm
  In 1969 a young black man that voted Democratic expressed his displeasure with the World and how he felt at that time….
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA51wyl-9IE
  
  40 years later, after consistently voting Democratic he is expressing his new feelings….
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT72bL7xocM
  
  Report this comment
- armymp
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:23pm
  McClellan : )
  
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- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:29pm
  ARMYMP, You’ve been around a while then. I retired from McClellan shortly before it closed.
  
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- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:30pm
  Hi MONK, I did like Richie Havens.
  
  Report this comment
- The-Monk
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:43pm
  Hi RJJ,
  
  Same here. I’m just saying that after 40 years of voting for a progressive Government some people will never learn and will always feel this way. It’s time to wake up.
  
  So sad… : (
  
  Report this comment
- armymp
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:46pm
  RJ- 1986: Basic training / AIT. I’d love to go back and see what it looks like now!
  
  Report this comment
- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:50pm
  Hi MONK, that is so true.
  
  Report this comment
- spirited
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 1:48am
  Hello MONK
  
  Yes
  but, his beard grew
  
  Report this comment
- ShamanWorld
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 8:43am
  @army. No “teen” is not another word for black, its for underage, but obviously you know the kid was black.So what’s your point? I could find you thousands of stories of white men and teens who have robbed and done wild, unthinkable acts use to the drug METH. I know very few black people who have ever used meth, for it is called “white mans crack”. I grew up in Sacramento, CA. My grandfather was a radar operator on bombers etc in the Air Force. In the North Sacramento area in Elverta, and yes Rush, Rio Linda, were Hells Angels, Meth dealers, in fact my neighbor was a chapter leader of the HA, and I remember as a kid being scared of the loud sound of 30-50 Harley Ds pulling into his yard only 20 feet from my house at any given time. Mostof these people’s kids grew up to be criminals, and they are all white. I’m sure Sacramento isn’t an aberration with meth etc, as far as its effects on criminality in the white community. Just because the only the thing the white, euro joo controlled media shows you is mostly black crooks, don’t be fooled by the divide and conquer strategy. Better yet, don’t be so ignorant…
  
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- Letthebulletsfly
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 1:01pm
  Shaman. Apparently you are the ignorant one. There’s a reason you see so many blacks on the evening news. Black males comprise about 6% of the population yet are responsible for 40% of violent crime. It’s not racist to point out facts.
  
  Report this comment
bjornskis
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 10:53pm
your son is an adult and a POS maybe a little more gun control by the owner of the house would have saved the tax payers 100s of thousands of dollars

good kids don’t kick in a window and enter a house.

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- The Giver
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:45pm
  He got hurt as a result of breaking and entering. Only he should be responsible for paying the hospital. I couldn’t see the video on the iPad.
  
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KickinBack
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 10:45pm
Obviously these crooks don’t read the Blaze.

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- neverending
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:18pm
  And now some of them won’t be able to – Hip hip hooray on that one!
  
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- moonlight on the bay
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:30pm
  Dean Martin said it best in “Robin and the Seven Hoods”: “You read, you loin . . . er, learn.”
  
  I think I’d rather the home invaders remain ignorant, and the home OWNERS take them out for good.
  I like that “Hold still while I shoot you through the door” line.
  
  Report this comment
- MDECKER
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:39pm
  Keep em coming.
  
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Stoic one
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 10:45pm
Amazing…
simply amazing
And diane fienstien wants to disarm the law abiding American populace.

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- repairsea
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 10:50pm
  Oregon is having problems due to the police being layed off. An 83 year old WWII vet had someone knock on his door at 3AM and when he asked who it was, they ran away. Next night, 3AM someone knocked on his door, the vet said hold still so I can shoot you through the door. He heard someone run off. That was the last time someone knocked on his door. We need our guns to protect ourselves from the criminals who mean to do us harm.
  
  Report this comment
- chazmo
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 12:33am
  And she would say, “why did you shoot him? Let him take stuff and leave.”
  She is such a, fill in the rest. I hate living in Calif. 5 more yrs and I’m outtie. If we make it that long.
  
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skyguy51
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 10:44pm
Dang, OSHA will probably seek an injunction against the whole state of Texas to cease and desist this occupation job hazard against burglars.

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DADDYWOREAWHITEHAT
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 10:41pm
Good shooting. Too bad Ben tab is so good, now we’ll have to pay for this perps health care & support for years. Dang. Maybe one more bullet would’ve made the difference.
Rehabilitation – no I have no evidence f that working.

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- Letthebulletsfly
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 1:11pm
  Many of us here in Texas do believe in rehabilitation. Give a burglar 30 days in the electric chair and I guarantee 0% recidivism.
  
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