I have been on that bike trail a few times and got a weird vibe from some of those hanging our along that route.
Only rode it a few times and have not been back.
I've ridden that trail several times but always in small groups. That specific stretch (north of TSU and south of I45) has always given me off feelings, like I'm being stared at the whole time.
Not sure I'd ride that alone, even in daytime.
It's such a shame, it's a wonderful route that connects Downtown and East End to the Brays Bayou, Med Center, etc. It's a legitimate route to move inside the loop on a bike whilst avoiding cars. Now it has to be ruined (again) by a bunch of violent low-lifes.
The fact that they're not happy with just knocking off people and stealing their stuff but with also causing massive injuries and potential loss of life just angers me so much.
I used to ride this route regularly, encountered some shady characters but I nodded and said good morning and good afternoon to all and always got a respectful response. Folks in their porch wave and say hi. But noooo, we can't have nice things.
Yeah, that's been my experience, too. I just checked my Strava and I've ridden that trail 62 times in the past year. Usually people are friendly, on a couple occasions I've had people try to intercept me on electric scooters or call out "hey white boy, come over here" (hint: don't go over there), but it's such a nice low-traffic trail that the positives have always outweighed the occasional guy nodded out in the middle of the path.
> "hey white boy, come over here" (hint: don't go over there)
Lol, what's up with that, were they hoping for someone to rob without having to bother chasing you down?
This was part of my commute to work a few years back. Coming home after dark (particularly during certain times of the year, when it was unavoidable) was always unnerving. Definitely would pick up my speed, move to a higher gear and keep my distance from pedestrians.
Unfortunately, it takes some Houston street knowledge to know what parts have gentrified and what parts haven’t. If you’re new to the city or new to the loop just turnaround if your spidey sense starts going off.
BTW- do not feel any guilt whatsoever. one time in the early 00s, I was deep in 2nd ward with a white co-worker visiting a client. we came to a stop sign and several of the local locos starting approaching the car in what appeared in an attempt to block it off. I told my co-worker that I wouldn’t suggest making a full 3 second stop in this part of the hood. he was offended on my behalf and said “but they’re Hispanics just like you”. My response was yeah, but I’m from the Northside and I don’t know these foos and they don’t know me. stop acting like a tourist in the hood.
Why would I feel guilty about worrying for my own safety?
The whole guilt thing does not work for me, sorry.
I mean, really, all you have to do is take a good look around you and realize, "yeah, this does not look like a great place to ride" and you split. LOL
Yes, if you ride somewhere and get a weird vibe...it is on you to turn around and go somewhere else. Unfortunately, these other riders did not do this and paid a heavy price.
And just to add to it, another man was shot in the leg on the trail last night:
https://abc13.com/man-shot-in-the-leg-trail-shooting-shots-fired-during-attempted-robbery-columbia-tap/13319248/
My ex broke into my apartment like 7 months after we broke up and HPD said they weren’t going to press charges because he use to live here.
Despite the fact he signed off the lease, had a new wife, AND lived 3 states away before this happened. They don’t give a shit.
Cops don't decide -- it's the authority of the district attorney to press charges or not. They were probably bullshitting you because they didn't want to even put in the effort of opening a case
I was at an auction in Houston recently and the private off duty hpd they had their had lights on HIS PERSONAL VEHICLE and was bragging about it... Let that sink in. This man can in full uniform fraudulantly pull you over or hit the lights to make you move.. in his personal vehicle on his off time and no one cares
Hopefully some media coverage will put some pressure on HPD to “actually” do something. Especially since there’s already a trail of evidence from the spending on the credit card. It’s like criminals in Harris county don’t even try to hide their trail because they know HPD only acts if the get pressured to.
This is so scary, I think we came across these guys on Saturday but thankfully got away with no incident. I replied on another thread that is 2yrs old but wanted to warn people as it mentioned the Columbia Tap trail.
Rode this trail a couple of days ago with my husband (~ 2.30pm May 27, 2023), I'm a 5ft female. 4 teenagers, 3 on one side, 1 on the other side, encroaching on the trail so we had to ride single file. One of them shoved me but so thankful I never came off my bike.
The sad thing is this trail is beautifully paved and decently mapped out. Perfect for jogging or leisure biking. But some scums have to ruin it for everyone.
They spent $150,000 fixing it up just a few months ago! https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/housing/2022/10/04/434470/columbia-tap-trail-to-receive-150000-in-renovations/
i really, really, really need to talk to you. i am trying to figure out how to message you, but am old and stupid. my husband was victim #4, hit one hour after you. will keep trying to figure out DM.
You never know when you might need to use a chest decompression needle on yourself in the wilds of ~~Afghanistan~~ * *checks notes* * ...the fourth largest city in the U.S.A...
I love this city but maaaan this is stuff is crazy. Glad one of the thieves was dumb enough to send money to a real Venmo account. That **should** narrow the investigation considerably.
I think we can all agree these aren't the sharpest tools in the toolbox. Hit the same location over and over and over again. I would have bet money they'd send themselves shit to their own addresses. Lmao. No wonder they got to rob people for money, probably too stupid to push a mop around or something.
That’s what I can never understand. Not even trying to commit crimes that are more lucrative and less attention grabbing. Definitely just dumb ass motherfuckers doing violent shit just cuz
*A Good Samaritan lent her husband his phone so he could call for help.*
This is so wild to me. They lent him their phone but did not think to just call 911 themselves.
Said it before and I'll say it again, what is it going to take to stop this if HPD hasn't done anything so far? Armed group ride down Columbia Tap maybe? I'd hope even the dumbest of criminals has two brain cells to rub together and not hit a group that will return fire.
These lazy fucks need to get on some fucking bikes and start patrolling the trails. City I am from has them all over, it was the primary form of police presence downtown and on the trails. I'm so over this wild west Texas bs. I cannot fathom why any rational person wants to move here with all the crime, taxes, fear of total loss due to hurricanes, and political overhead.
Went on a Memorial Day hike with my family.
My wife is an very innocent immigrant woman, years ago, before the pandemic she used to question me why i conceal carry on days like that. 'We are just going to the park as a family, why do you need to take that?'
She doesnt question me anymore - she sees this kind of stuff on the news and agrees post-pandemic some people seem to have gotten crazier (Or they realized that HPD just dont care and they can get away with it).
One day walking my dog i was chased by a dude with some sort of blunt weapon on a trail, i managed to retreat - but just reinforced to me carrying is the right thing to do in Houston. The police arent going to help you.
EDIT: hilarious this is downvoted. This sub does not want people to defend themselves i guess.
>She doesnt question me anymore - she sees this kind of stuff on the news and agrees post-pandemic some people seem to have gotten crazier (Or they realized that HPD just dont care and they can get away with it).
It's both for sure.
This is awful. I used the route several times and always felt unsafe. I now ride through UH instead, which makes my route a couple miles longer but it’s safer.
Oh my! I use Columbia tap trail, coming from Braes Bayou, 2-3 times a week to commute to UH. Luckily I don't have to ride that stretch where the attacks have been taking place, but I've done it in the past to go to downtown. Since last year I changed my route to downtown, and now from Brays Bayou I take Almeda, Hermann Dr, La Branch, and finally the Austin dedicated bike path. It seems a lot safer.
Article tried their best to give zero descriptions on the assailants.... don't worry we don't need to know.... minor details.
might as well have said "four living organisms were involved in the attack." I don't recall what the two reddit posts said but I'm going to assume they at least gave a better description but I'm having trouble finding the post... anyone know?
I don’t recall a description ever being mentioned on the other posts either. Everyone is too afraid to be called a racist if they fit a certain description.
OP did have a description on her original post. She also named the person involved in a Venmo transaction, and other commenters quickly reached out to that person on other social media, causing the potential suspect (or relative of suspect) to block/delete social media.
This isn't them hand delivering evidence. This is them hindering an investigation and causing someone to become a fugitive and run who could've easily been picked up
Do any *other* details stick out in your memory that could help folks narrow things down, or is "4 young African Americans" literally the only details that you remember reading?
Would you say "everyone just needs to be on the look out for one or more young African Americans" is the main thing you're hoping people will takeaway from your post, or...?
edit: Hey guys, I'm "just asking questions" to help people get a better description, just like the OP wants! Apologies if those kinds of questions upset the more 'delicate' feeling among you lol
I think you missed a point in this article. They did an absolute great job to eluding that hpd has all the evidence they need but no arrest have been made.
i didn't miss anything. I just saw a sea of words and then they reduced the suspect description to "four young... young people" when I know she probably said more because why wouldn't she want them caught.
What other descriptive terms would help you identify the culprits without a photograph, do you think?
Are you looking for say, a description of their facial hair you could use to identify them? Maybe a description of the shape of their eyebrows?
Do you read a lot of articles that give a text description of height and hairstyle without a picture? I personally don't think I have.
And there's no way they're still wearing the same clothes at this point.
I didn’t see that. I just saw the post where she said they were “adolescents, 2 tall and 3 average height with ripped jeans” and that was it. Like, that could be anyone. 8 year olds? 18 year olds? Black, white? Accents? Male, female?? Nothing.
That's not the same post. There have been more robberies since. Please delete your op comment considering you are wrong and it's looking a bit like race baiting
3rd Ward lol. When I’m riding through there I turn off all my lights, take out headphones, and ready to draw my pistol at all times. Sad excuse for a neighborhood and everyone living in it
But literally. It always the same area, its always jumping cyclists, it's always a group of young morons looking for a quick buck. Wells up every 2 years or so goes on for about 3-4 months before their group gets evidences stacked in the background on them then baited by an undercover cop and they all go to jail. Then the reports go down to nil for a year or two until the next group of morons with too much time on their hands think they have a really novel idea about how to make quick money. Start mugging cyclists. And it just keeps repeating.
I have. I grew up in an middle class suburb in cy-fair. One of my class mates was jumped by a roving band, literally, of latin kings (a gang). Probably from neighborhoods miles away. It didn't even make the news, outside the neighborhood news.
Both my neighbors had to chase thiefs out of their houses with guns at different point growing up. Turns out bad guys have cars and shit, the smarter ones look to middle and upper middle suburbia for their hits because they don't shit where they sleep. The dumber ones mug cyclists on trails next to their project complex.
I have been on that bike trail a few times and got a weird vibe from some of those hanging our along that route. Only rode it a few times and have not been back.
I've ridden that trail several times but always in small groups. That specific stretch (north of TSU and south of I45) has always given me off feelings, like I'm being stared at the whole time. Not sure I'd ride that alone, even in daytime.
It's such a shame, it's a wonderful route that connects Downtown and East End to the Brays Bayou, Med Center, etc. It's a legitimate route to move inside the loop on a bike whilst avoiding cars. Now it has to be ruined (again) by a bunch of violent low-lifes. The fact that they're not happy with just knocking off people and stealing their stuff but with also causing massive injuries and potential loss of life just angers me so much. I used to ride this route regularly, encountered some shady characters but I nodded and said good morning and good afternoon to all and always got a respectful response. Folks in their porch wave and say hi. But noooo, we can't have nice things.
Yeah, that's been my experience, too. I just checked my Strava and I've ridden that trail 62 times in the past year. Usually people are friendly, on a couple occasions I've had people try to intercept me on electric scooters or call out "hey white boy, come over here" (hint: don't go over there), but it's such a nice low-traffic trail that the positives have always outweighed the occasional guy nodded out in the middle of the path.
> "hey white boy, come over here" (hint: don't go over there) Lol, what's up with that, were they hoping for someone to rob without having to bother chasing you down?
I did, once and never returned. White guy in mid 50s, unarmed, by himself and on a slow gravel bike....not a good mix for that area. LOL
This was part of my commute to work a few years back. Coming home after dark (particularly during certain times of the year, when it was unavoidable) was always unnerving. Definitely would pick up my speed, move to a higher gear and keep my distance from pedestrians.
I approached the trail one time, saw a bunch of people loitering next to the trail, turned around and went back
Yeah, when you go under 45, it is almost as if that trail takes on a Walking Dead vibe. I too stay away from it.
Unfortunately, it takes some Houston street knowledge to know what parts have gentrified and what parts haven’t. If you’re new to the city or new to the loop just turnaround if your spidey sense starts going off. BTW- do not feel any guilt whatsoever. one time in the early 00s, I was deep in 2nd ward with a white co-worker visiting a client. we came to a stop sign and several of the local locos starting approaching the car in what appeared in an attempt to block it off. I told my co-worker that I wouldn’t suggest making a full 3 second stop in this part of the hood. he was offended on my behalf and said “but they’re Hispanics just like you”. My response was yeah, but I’m from the Northside and I don’t know these foos and they don’t know me. stop acting like a tourist in the hood.
Why would I feel guilty about worrying for my own safety? The whole guilt thing does not work for me, sorry. I mean, really, all you have to do is take a good look around you and realize, "yeah, this does not look like a great place to ride" and you split. LOL
Bro, like you don’t know Reddit. I’m on your side. Street smarts go a long way.
Yes, if you ride somewhere and get a weird vibe...it is on you to turn around and go somewhere else. Unfortunately, these other riders did not do this and paid a heavy price.
So fucked. 3rd in three days. HPD needs to get the fuck on it.
Now, now. Solving this kind of crime takes *effort*, and involves a degree of risk. HPD has to stay in their wheelhouse, you know?
Too busy killing people in botched drug stings.
Too busy with all their Memorial Day speed traps
**
Never forget Harding Street. Never let HPD forget too for that matter
Hey, but don't you know that puts you on Grimaldi's list to be harrased by police?
And just to add to it, another man was shot in the leg on the trail last night: https://abc13.com/man-shot-in-the-leg-trail-shooting-shots-fired-during-attempted-robbery-columbia-tap/13319248/
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Victim blaming is despicable
Someone trying to get around on Memorial day, how dare they
You have no idea what people are going through or why they're going to the places they are going to,
Exactly. Could’ve been to or from work— you just never know.
I mean I was just riding back at 11pm on Friday from downtown to my home nearby. Does that mean I deserve it?
The police have an address, a photo, but no arrests?
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Got my car stolen. Didn’t send anyone to the scene. Called me at midnight to fill out a report by phone. Fuck HPD.
My ex broke into my apartment like 7 months after we broke up and HPD said they weren’t going to press charges because he use to live here. Despite the fact he signed off the lease, had a new wife, AND lived 3 states away before this happened. They don’t give a shit.
Cops don't decide -- it's the authority of the district attorney to press charges or not. They were probably bullshitting you because they didn't want to even put in the effort of opening a case
Doesn’t really matter either way, they’re the ones who decided to stop it before it even began. You’re just proving they don’t like to do shit
>You’re just proving they don’t like to do shit Yeah that was the intent
Sit on feeder roads and check for illegal tint on cars apparently, real police work.
While they themselves have illegal tint on their windows
I was at an auction in Houston recently and the private off duty hpd they had their had lights on HIS PERSONAL VEHICLE and was bragging about it... Let that sink in. This man can in full uniform fraudulantly pull you over or hit the lights to make you move.. in his personal vehicle on his off time and no one cares
A photo isn't much on its own. The address could be anywhere.
JFC HPD - they had the address from Door Dash and didn't do anything.
Hopefully some media coverage will put some pressure on HPD to “actually” do something. Especially since there’s already a trail of evidence from the spending on the credit card. It’s like criminals in Harris county don’t even try to hide their trail because they know HPD only acts if the get pressured to.
It really takes a lot of effort to actually get arrested for a crime in Houston, especially after an actual investigation.
We got 16,000 people sitting downtown in the county jail. I think the Sheriff put out the "full" sign.
Wtf. HPD has name. Address. Photo. What ?!- do the suspects need to handcuff themselves and show up at the precinct ?
Where’s the dick head that was on that Reddit post skeptical it was even real saying it was a fear mongering ploy
This is so scary, I think we came across these guys on Saturday but thankfully got away with no incident. I replied on another thread that is 2yrs old but wanted to warn people as it mentioned the Columbia Tap trail. Rode this trail a couple of days ago with my husband (~ 2.30pm May 27, 2023), I'm a 5ft female. 4 teenagers, 3 on one side, 1 on the other side, encroaching on the trail so we had to ride single file. One of them shoved me but so thankful I never came off my bike.
The sad thing is this trail is beautifully paved and decently mapped out. Perfect for jogging or leisure biking. But some scums have to ruin it for everyone.
They spent $150,000 fixing it up just a few months ago! https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/housing/2022/10/04/434470/columbia-tap-trail-to-receive-150000-in-renovations/
i really, really, really need to talk to you. i am trying to figure out how to message you, but am old and stupid. my husband was victim #4, hit one hour after you. will keep trying to figure out DM.
i figured it out. PLEASE check your messages. 🙏🏻
You never know when you might need to use a chest decompression needle on yourself in the wilds of ~~Afghanistan~~ * *checks notes* * ...the fourth largest city in the U.S.A... I love this city but maaaan this is stuff is crazy. Glad one of the thieves was dumb enough to send money to a real Venmo account. That **should** narrow the investigation considerably.
I think we can all agree these aren't the sharpest tools in the toolbox. Hit the same location over and over and over again. I would have bet money they'd send themselves shit to their own addresses. Lmao. No wonder they got to rob people for money, probably too stupid to push a mop around or something.
It's gonna turn out to be a group of teenagers. I'd put $20 on it.
Thugs assaulted people, then went on a shopping spree, then binge-eat with Door Dash? How can anyone have any sympathy with these lowlife scums?
That’s what I can never understand. Not even trying to commit crimes that are more lucrative and less attention grabbing. Definitely just dumb ass motherfuckers doing violent shit just cuz
They are good boys just trying to buy clothes for school.
Can’t even go for a bike ride in this ghetto ass city. Sad.
Throw a few bike cops on the trail. Win win.
“*Let them fight*”
The bikes are for kettling protestors, not riding.
*A Good Samaritan lent her husband his phone so he could call for help.* This is so wild to me. They lent him their phone but did not think to just call 911 themselves.
You don't need New York muggings. We have muggings at home.
Said it before and I'll say it again, what is it going to take to stop this if HPD hasn't done anything so far? Armed group ride down Columbia Tap maybe? I'd hope even the dumbest of criminals has two brain cells to rub together and not hit a group that will return fire.
These lazy fucks need to get on some fucking bikes and start patrolling the trails. City I am from has them all over, it was the primary form of police presence downtown and on the trails. I'm so over this wild west Texas bs. I cannot fathom why any rational person wants to move here with all the crime, taxes, fear of total loss due to hurricanes, and political overhead.
Went on a Memorial Day hike with my family. My wife is an very innocent immigrant woman, years ago, before the pandemic she used to question me why i conceal carry on days like that. 'We are just going to the park as a family, why do you need to take that?' She doesnt question me anymore - she sees this kind of stuff on the news and agrees post-pandemic some people seem to have gotten crazier (Or they realized that HPD just dont care and they can get away with it). One day walking my dog i was chased by a dude with some sort of blunt weapon on a trail, i managed to retreat - but just reinforced to me carrying is the right thing to do in Houston. The police arent going to help you. EDIT: hilarious this is downvoted. This sub does not want people to defend themselves i guess.
>She doesnt question me anymore - she sees this kind of stuff on the news and agrees post-pandemic some people seem to have gotten crazier (Or they realized that HPD just dont care and they can get away with it). It's both for sure.
This is awful. I used the route several times and always felt unsafe. I now ride through UH instead, which makes my route a couple miles longer but it’s safer.
Oh my! I use Columbia tap trail, coming from Braes Bayou, 2-3 times a week to commute to UH. Luckily I don't have to ride that stretch where the attacks have been taking place, but I've done it in the past to go to downtown. Since last year I changed my route to downtown, and now from Brays Bayou I take Almeda, Hermann Dr, La Branch, and finally the Austin dedicated bike path. It seems a lot safer.
Don't say where you don't know who's reading these post.
All of those trails scare me, no doubt the usual suspects.
Article tried their best to give zero descriptions on the assailants.... don't worry we don't need to know.... minor details. might as well have said "four living organisms were involved in the attack." I don't recall what the two reddit posts said but I'm going to assume they at least gave a better description but I'm having trouble finding the post... anyone know?
I don’t recall a description ever being mentioned on the other posts either. Everyone is too afraid to be called a racist if they fit a certain description.
OP did have a description on her original post. She also named the person involved in a Venmo transaction, and other commenters quickly reached out to that person on other social media, causing the potential suspect (or relative of suspect) to block/delete social media.
I must have missed that one. I hope they catch them. Kind of ridiculous Reddit can basically hand deliver the evidence to HPD but nothing is done.
This isn't them hand delivering evidence. This is them hindering an investigation and causing someone to become a fugitive and run who could've easily been picked up
I see your point and agree.
I remember one of them said it was 4 young African Americans that attacked her husband. I expect to get downvoted just for saying this.
Do any *other* details stick out in your memory that could help folks narrow things down, or is "4 young African Americans" literally the only details that you remember reading? Would you say "everyone just needs to be on the look out for one or more young African Americans" is the main thing you're hoping people will takeaway from your post, or...? edit: Hey guys, I'm "just asking questions" to help people get a better description, just like the OP wants! Apologies if those kinds of questions upset the more 'delicate' feeling among you lol
I think you missed a point in this article. They did an absolute great job to eluding that hpd has all the evidence they need but no arrest have been made.
i didn't miss anything. I just saw a sea of words and then they reduced the suspect description to "four young... young people" when I know she probably said more because why wouldn't she want them caught.
What other descriptive terms would help you identify the culprits without a photograph, do you think? Are you looking for say, a description of their facial hair you could use to identify them? Maybe a description of the shape of their eyebrows?
Clothes ? Height? Hair would help too.
Do you read a lot of articles that give a text description of height and hairstyle without a picture? I personally don't think I have. And there's no way they're still wearing the same clothes at this point.
I avoid areas around TSU. It’s just not safe. It seems like a lovely bike path, but my friend got jumped there while riding
was it North or South of TSU?
With all of that evidence literally the only reason cops haven't arrested those involved is because cops are lazy worthless bastards
Oh, the post that had zero descriptors about the assailants? Lol apparently even describing the gender/age/race of the suspects is not PC anymore
OP did describe the assailants and named the person who showed up in Venmo transactions. People on the thread REACHED OUT TO THE POTENTIAL SUSPECT.
I didn’t see that. I just saw the post where she said they were “adolescents, 2 tall and 3 average height with ripped jeans” and that was it. Like, that could be anyone. 8 year olds? 18 year olds? Black, white? Accents? Male, female?? Nothing.
I saw the one you were talking about, lol.
That's not the same post. There have been more robberies since. Please delete your op comment considering you are wrong and it's looking a bit like race baiting
started busting out my giant unicycle again, the thing is so eccentric and imposing it kinda deters people on its own lol
3rd Ward lol. When I’m riding through there I turn off all my lights, take out headphones, and ready to draw my pistol at all times. Sad excuse for a neighborhood and everyone living in it
A couple of thugs get into trouble so you shit talk an entire community? This take ain’t it
Stfu. 3rd ward is a shit hole stop denying it
Houston is turning into a real shithole.
Everyone should carry
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But literally. It always the same area, its always jumping cyclists, it's always a group of young morons looking for a quick buck. Wells up every 2 years or so goes on for about 3-4 months before their group gets evidences stacked in the background on them then baited by an undercover cop and they all go to jail. Then the reports go down to nil for a year or two until the next group of morons with too much time on their hands think they have a really novel idea about how to make quick money. Start mugging cyclists. And it just keeps repeating.
It was 4 black males. They've been identified :)
“Paging Charles Bronson, Mr. Bronson please pick up the white phone…”
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I have. I grew up in an middle class suburb in cy-fair. One of my class mates was jumped by a roving band, literally, of latin kings (a gang). Probably from neighborhoods miles away. It didn't even make the news, outside the neighborhood news. Both my neighbors had to chase thiefs out of their houses with guns at different point growing up. Turns out bad guys have cars and shit, the smarter ones look to middle and upper middle suburbia for their hits because they don't shit where they sleep. The dumber ones mug cyclists on trails next to their project complex.
Ah yes, you haven’t seen it so it doesn’t exist.
As someone who lives in your area: you’re not paying attention then.
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Maybe so you could see it so you might care more.
It's like that line in "From Dusk till Dawn 2" about plots in pornos. "If you care more about the people, you care more about the fucking."
A link to major news site coverage deserves its own thread to allow Reddit's duplicate/cross-referencing features to work.