Another Houston incident of criminal “injustice” system violence is making national news, and the victim, in this case, wants the police involved fired and barred from future law enforcement employment.
At Least 40 Shots Fired
Eboni Pouncy (28), the mother of a one-year-old, was at a friend’s apartment when police, according to Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) statements, mistook her for an intruder and shot at her through an apartment window at least 40 times per HCSO body cam footage, hitting her five times.
“This newly-released body cam footage is evidence of the unnecessary and excessive force used against her,” Pouncy’s lawyer, Ben Crump, said in a recent statement. “We demand that the deputies involved be immediately held accountable for the terrible injuries.”
Pouncy miraculously survived the barrage of law enforcement gunfire, though she was hit five times – in the leg and torso – according to Crump, who referred to the body cam footage of his client being shot as “evidence of the unnecessary and excessive force.”
Pouncy In Her Own Words
Interviewed by ABC News, a visibly shaken Pouncy recalled the incident, which took place on Feb. 3, 2024, and was brought to tears when reflecting on how her gunshot injuries have hampered her care for her infant daughter.
INSERT ABC13 VIDEO: https://abc13.com/eboni-pouncy-shot-cloverleaf-shooting-harris-county-deputies-mistaken-ben-crump/14430413/
“We got into the house. We’re watching TV. There was a knock at the door. At that time, I got up and got my gun, and I went to go greet who was ever at the door,” shared Pouncy, voice trembling, while fighting back tears during an interview with ABC13. Pouncy said she never heard the deputies announce themselves and wasn’t sure who was on the other side of the door at roughly 2:30 a.m. Pouncy said she walked to the door with gun in hand “because the window was broken and I believed I was taking safety precautions at that time of night. And so I was just trying to do the right thing.”
When the deputies started their barrage of 40-plus shots, Pouncy said, “I didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t even realize that I was hit. I started seeing holes in the walls as I was standing there. And then I realized it was something coming through the apartment. I thought it was something outside.”
After being shot five times by deputies, Pouncy said, “I got up off the ground after I had prayed. And I walked to the door, and I held onto the rails, and I just made my way down.”
Pouncy said her entire life has been impacted by the shooting.
“Breathing too hard, laughing; everything hurts. I’m not able to be as attentive with my baby. She’s only one [year old]. So, that’s probably the hardest part.
Harris Co. Sheriff’s Office Statement
The HCSO incident video begins with the department’s explanation of events leading up to, during, and after the shooting. According to the HCSO statement, officers were called to an apartment complex at 90 Uvalde Rd. at 2:10 a.m., with the first officer arriving four minutes later to investigate a caller reporting that someone was inside her apartment. Shortly after “Deputy One” checked the apartment and found no intruder, “Deputy Two” arrived on the scene and was told by another resident that “someone had broken into another nearby second-floor apartment.”
According to HCSO, the deputies saw the front window screen removed, broken glass, and the blinds raised, then knocked on the apartment door verbally announcing themselves before seeing someone approaching the door with a gun in hand.
That’s when the shooting started.
The unofficial count of 40-plus shots fired through the resident’s apartment window included both officers emptying their clips, reloading, and shooting some more.
Crump told reporters that Pouncy is understandably traumatized by the incident and that even though none of her vital organs were struck by HCSO bullets, the long-term effects of her injuries are yet to be determined.
What About Pouncy’s 2nd Amendment Rights?
“The shooting of Eboni Pouncy should have never happened. The video shows the deputies that responded to Eboni’s friend’s house shot first and asked questions later. It is concerningly clear by the video and Eboni’s injuries that deputies were not justified in shooting her five times,” read Crump’s statement.
Crump then addressed the Second Amendment, which is traditionally mentioned by gun rights advocates as a sacred right of U.S. citizens, particularly white citizens, to own guns and not be penalized or punished for owning them.
“We all know that every American citizen right now is keenly aware of their Second Amendment rights and their rights to bear arms,” Crump said. “Why is it a presumption that we don’t have a right to the Second Amendment? This reminds you of the tragic killing of Breonna Taylor, where her boyfriend was a law-abiding gun-registered citizen. And yet, the police busted in their front door, shooting and killing Breonna.”
Pouncy’s friend, who resides in the apartment HCSO deputies shot up, said the two were together the previous night, and that she forgot the keys to her apartment. The friend then told Pouncy to break the window so they could enter. After being in the apartment for approximately 20 minutes, the pair heard a loud banging on the door. In response to what Pouncy and her friend perceived as potential danger, as it was roughly 2:30 a.m., Pouncy grabbed her gun and walked towards the door.
That’s when the HCSO bullets began to fly through the window, and as Crump highlighted, without any give-and-take communication between deputies and apartment inhabitants.
Both officers have been placed on administrative leave, according to HCSO. The sheriff’s department and local district attorney are investigating the case, which is being referred to a grand jury.
After the shooting, Pouncy was taken to the hospital by paramedics for her injuries.
