Third Ward community members are again demanding action at one of the Columbia Tap Trail’s most troubled locations: Anita Street, where the trail intersects the 3100 block.
Their concerns intensified following the Sept. 6 fatal shooting of 35-year-old Jaleel Rahman at 3119 Anita Street. Houston police confirmed they are investigating the shooting and said two people were detained for questioning. The investigation remains ongoing.
For residents and trail advocates, however, Rahman’s death, though it did not occur on the Columbia Tap Trail, has renewed concerns about safety in and around the corridor.
A troubled stretch
Ed Pettitt, president of Friends of Columbia Tap, recently contacted Houston Police Chief J. Noe Diaz, Mayor John Whitmire, and several Houston City Council members seeking investigations and preventive measures.
Pettitt points to a history of violence around Anita Street and the trail. In 2023, five cyclists were attacked within roughly two weeks, prompting HPD to increase patrols and deploy undercover officers, bikes, and ATVs. Two teenagers were subsequently arrested and charged in connection with the robberies.
Pettitt also cited killings involving Alfred Earl James in 2017, Abraham Osayande in 2020, Damien Horton in 2021, Josue E. Hernandez in 2022, and Rahman in 2026.
HPD records independently confirm a fatal shooting near the trail in the 3100 block of Anita in August 2022.
“A trail is only as safe as its most dangerous section,” said Pettitt. “For years, the most dangerous section of the Columbia Tap Trail has been the intersection at Anita Street.”
Council Member Dr. Carolyn Evans-Shabazz, whose District D includes Third Ward, cautioned against automatically linking separate crimes.
“The Sept. 6 incident involving Jaleel Rahman occurred on Anita Street, but it was not an incident on the Columbia Tap Trail,” she said. “We have no information from HPD establishing that this case, the 2023 incidents involving cyclists, or other incidents that have occurred in the surrounding area are connected.”
Promises, then change
Pettitt recalled a 2023 press conference at Anita Street attended by Evans-Shabazz and then-HPD Executive Assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite.
Following the cyclist attacks, HPD increased visible and undercover enforcement along the trail, and arrests were made in connection with that series of robberies.
Pettitt said Commander Coleta Johnson subsequently worked with residents and focused on nuisance properties that generated repeated police calls.
“Under Commander Johnson, we finally started to see progress,” Pettitt said. “She took the nuisance apartments seriously, worked with the community, and began putting sustained pressure on properties that had become magnets for violence.”
He contends that progress slowed after a change in South Central leadership.
“Then South Central leadership changed, and the consequences are now staring us in the face,” added Pettitt.
Evans-Shabazz said the city remains engaged with HPD and residents.
“We remain in communication with HPD regarding public-safety concerns in this area,” she said, “and I continue to advocate for sustained attention rather than a response that occurs only after a serious incident.”
Focus on properties
Pettitt’s latest communication identifies Hollins Group Properties Inc., operated by Kevin Hollins, as controlling multiple properties on Anita, including 3114, 3116, 3117, 3118, 3119, and 3121.
“Three years ago, you stood on Anita Street and told this community that the violence was unacceptable. Three years later, we are standing over another body.”
Ed Pettiitt, president, Friends of Columbia Tap
He is asking city officials to examine those properties and others in the 3100 block on a parcel-by-parcel basis, including calls for service, offense reports, arrests, ownership records, code violations, and documented efforts to address criminal activity.
“At what point does the City stop treating each shooting, murder, squatter, robbery, and aggravated assault as an isolated incident and start treating the properties themselves as the problem?” Pettitt asked.
A representative from Hollins Group Properties Inc. had not responded to the Defender’s request for comment upon publication.
Chapter 125 option
Pettitt specifically cites Chapter 125 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, which provides a legal mechanism for addressing certain common nuisances, including circumstances involving multiunit residential properties in which specified criminal activity occurs and is knowingly tolerated without reasonable efforts to stop it.
Houston’s Code of Ordinances, Section 2-268, also calls for aggressive pursuit of nuisance-property remediation and identifies Chapter 125 litigation as one potential tool. Pettitt is asking officials to determine whether the Anita Street properties meet the legal threshold.
“So, what are we waiting for?” he asked.
City points to investment
City officials say public-safety investments along the Columbia Tap corridor are already underway.
Whitmire said his office remains in contact with Evans-Shabazz, community advocates, and faith leaders.
“Safety in the Third Ward remains a priority for the Houston Police Department,” said Whitmire. “There are now more patrols in the Columbia Tap Trail.”
Whitmire also pointed to additional cameras and an upgraded lighting system.
Evans-Shabazz said the city has helped advance a $7.5 million safety and infrastructure investment for the approximately four-mile trail, including pedestrian-scale solar lighting, intersection improvements, emergency call boxes, wayfinding, and signage. She emphasized that identifying the emergency location is particularly important on a trail.
“If someone calls 911 from the Columbia Tap Trail, they should be able to identify exactly where they are, and our first responders should be able to locate them as quickly as possible,” Evans-Shabazz said.
Investigation and prevention
Evans-Shabazz also stressed that homicide investigations are handled through HPD’s Homicide Division, while South Central Patrol remains important for neighborhood visibility and prevention.
“I also want to be careful about assigning one explanation to separate crimes,” she said. “It is the responsibility of investigators to determine whether incidents are connected and what factors contributed to a particular crime.”
At the same time, she said the government has a responsibility to address conditions residents can see and experience.
“Our approach has to address both response and prevention,” Evans-Shabazz said. “That means supporting HPD investigations when crimes occur while also investing in additional police presence, lighting, safer intersections, emergency access, location technology, and the physical condition of the trail and surrounding community.”
For Pettitt, however, the latest death represents another test of whether the government will follow through on commitments made after the 2023 attacks.
“Three years ago, you stood on Anita Street and told this community that the violence was unacceptable,” Pettitt said. “Three years later, we are standing over another body.”
“The community has reported the crimes. We have identified the properties. We have attended the meetings. We have worked with HPD. It is past time for the City to keep its promise.”
