Sammy Turner
Local News
11-year-old boy dies after being shot while playing ding-dong-ditch, Houston police say
When asked about potential charges, Sgt. Michael Cass said the circumstances don’t appear to support a self-defense claim.
HOUSTON — An 11-year-old boy is dead after police say he was shot during a “ding-dong-ditch” prank in east Houston late Saturday night.
The shooting happened around 11 p.m. near Mimbrough and Fidelity streets, just east of the East Loop.
Houston police said the boy and a group of kids had been ringing doorbells in the neighborhood when they knocked at one home. That’s when, according to witnesses, someone came out of the house and started shooting at the children as they ran away.
“A witness says someone ran out of that house and was shooting at the kids running down the street, and unfortunately, sadly enough, one of the boys who was 11 years old was shot in the back,” said HPD Homicide Detective Sgt. Michael Cass.
The boy was taken to the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds and later died Sunday afternoon.
Police said a man was detained at the home where the shooting happened. He has not been arrested but was being questioned by homicide detectives Sunday.
While executing a search warrant at the house, investigators collected several rifles and handguns as evidence.
When asked about potential charges, Sgt. Cass said the circumstances don’t appear to support a self-defense claim.
"In my opinion, it does not look like any type of self-defense. It wasn’t close to the house, so it’ll more than likely be a murder charge,” Cass said.
Neighbors said they’re devastated over the boy’s death and stunned that a child lost his life over what they considered a harmless prank.
“What harm could they have done? Playing with a doorbell? That’s the part that really kind of hurts the heart,” one neighbor told KHOU 11. “For someone to shoot him in the back, they knew they were a kid. What’s the purpose of it?”
Others shared a safety reminder for parents and children.
“You just don’t go knocking on people’s doors,” one neighbor said.
“I guess for parents out there, just be more cautious of the times we’re living in now,” Cass added.
Police said they are working with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office on possible charges. Detectives are also reviewing surveillance video and asking neighbors for any additional footage.
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JBLM soldier sentenced for sexually assaulting college student in barracks
A military judge sentenced Pvt. Deron Gordon to over six years in prison for sexually assaulting a college student.
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. — A Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier who sexually assaulted a college student in the barracks in 2024 was sentenced to more than six years in prison Friday.
A military judge sentenced Pvt. Deron Gordon, 20, to six years and three months in prison after he pleaded guilty to one specification each of sexual assault, abusive sexual contact and as a principal to indecent recording.
Gordon was previously charged with additional crimes, but those were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Gordon is one of four soldiers who were charged in in connection to the sexual assault of a college student, who is now a commissioned Army officer, in October 2024.
When Gordon pleaded guilty, he said that he and another soldier followed the college student into a bedroom after she had been drinking with them. He said she was unstable walking into the room and when they went inside she was on the bed and not responsive.
Gordon said he and the other soldier each proceeded to have sex with her and they filmed each other sexually assaulting her on Snapchat.
As part of his sentencing, Gordon will be reduced in rank to E-1 and dishonorably discharged from the Army.
Gordon will serve the remainder of his sentencing at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Once he is released, Gordon must register as a sex offender.
The three other soldiers who were charged in the incident are at different points in the legal process, and their cases are being treated separately.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. Additional resources are available on the Washington State Department of Health's website.
KING 5’s Conner Board contributed to this report.
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Teen sentenced in 2023 deadly Metro bus shooting near White Center
In the plea agreement, the teen said he recognized the man from pulling a gun on him on the bus several days prior and was nervous and scared.
WHITE CENTER, Wash. — A teenager was sentenced Friday to over 23 years in prison for shooting and killing a man aboard a King County Metro bus near White Center in 2023.
King County Judge Brian McDonald sentenced Miguel Rivera Dominguez, 19, to 23 years and 4 months in prison, with credit for time served. Prison time will be followed by three years of community custody.
The sentencing comes after Rivera Dominguez pleaded guilty July 3 of first-degree premeditated murder.
On Oct. 3, 2023, Rivera Dominguez fired five shots from “point blank range” at the head and neck of Marcel Da'jon Wagner, 21, who appeared to be asleep aboard the bus near Southwest Roxbury Street and 15th Avenue Southwest, according to charging documents.
In the plea agreement, Rivera Dominguez said he recognized Wagner from having “pulled a gun” on him on the bus a few days prior.
“i was nervous and scared when I saw him on 10/3/23 but he was not threatening me and I was not acting in self-defense,” Rivera Dominguez wrote.
There were 15 other passengers on the bus at the time, but none of them were injured in the shooting.
Rivera Dominguez, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, fled after the incident and remained at large for a month before he turned himself in.
The shooting prompted concerns about safety aboard King County Metro buses. After the shooting, Metro said it would add security to the H Line, expanding transit security officers who patrol buses and transit centers.
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Let’s Go Washington launches initiative campaign on trans youth sports, parental rights
Let's Go Washington, the backers of the 2024 initiatives, is looking for signatures again.
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Let's Go Washington is back in the initiative game.
The organization, founded by Brian Heywood, sponsored several initiatives in 2024 changing state law.
Heywood announced Monday signatures are being gathered to submit two initiatives to the 2026 state Legislature or potentially voters. The initiatives relate to parental rights and trans youth athletes.
Heywood's organization achieved significant victories last year when voters supported initiatives restricting natural gas use and overturning state laws limiting police pursuits. The state Legislature also passed Let's Go Washington-backed measures banning income taxes and guaranteeing parental rights to access school records. The success came after Heywood invested more than $5 million of his own money into seven initiatives.
"Someone has to stand up and fight back. And what I think I've done is given the voice. I've given voice to 1.2 million people who signed at least one of our initiatives," Heywood said.
However, the organization faced a setback earlier this year when Gov. Bob Ferguson signed legislation overhauling the "parents bill of rights" initiative.
"It stripped all the parts about parental notification or parental access to information," Heywood said.
In response, Let's Go Washington is now gathering signatures for two new campaigns. The first seeks to overturn Ferguson's recent law, restoring their original parental rights initiative. The second would require physicians to assign genders to youth athletes during physicals, prohibiting those considered males from competing against females.
"Allowing biological males to compete in girls sports is a blatant, a flagrant violation of Title IX, I would argue, and also extremely unfair to girls who've worked really hard to get in a position to be top athletes," Heywood said.
Despite failing to pass initiatives targeting the state's climate law, long-term care savings program, and capital gains tax in 2024, Heywood remains optimistic about his organization's impact.
"Four out of seven, I'm pretty, pretty happy with what we did, and we're not done," he said.
If the organization can collect enough signatures by the end of the year, the issues would be submitted to the state Legislature. Lawmakers could either pass the initiatives or let voters decide in November 2026.