Gaming Room Robbery Leads To Shootout Between Staff, Armed Robbers

HOUSTON, TEXAS — We’ve seen a number of similar stories related to these gaming room robberies. These gaming rooms have a lot of cash on hand which make them savory targets. In this instance, even armed employees weren’t enough deterrent.

The search is on for a group of men who barged into a south Houston game room and exchanged gunfire with employees, wounding both.

It happened in the 2900 block of Almeda Genoa Sunday night. Four to five masked men stormed the business with weapons, police said.

Gunfire broke out between the men and two game room employees. One employee was shot in the chest and the other was shot in the arm.

The employees believe that one of the suspects was shot in the gun battle before the men took off. Police are still looking for the men involved.

Via ABC13

The Breakdown:

There is not a lot to go on from the article about how this all started. What we know is that group of armed men targeted a local gaming (gambling) establishment. They charged in with guns to rob the place.

During the armed robbery attempt two employees who were also armed exchanged fire with the group of robbers. As the firefight ensued, both employees were shot. One was shot in the leg, the other in the chest. The employee shot in the chest was listed as in critical condition.

The group escaped and police are still looking for them. It is possible that one of the armed robbers was also shot during the robbery.

The Bad:

The bad here is that both the employees suffered gun shot wounds. It is great that they tried to defend the establishment and themselves. However, they were simply outnumbered. Any time you decide to draw your firearm and get involved into a gun fight, you put your life at risk. Depending on the situation, sometimes that risk is absolutely worth it.

We always want to see the brave good guys come out on top in these kinds of stories. Unfortunately, in this instance our good guys took the worse end of the gun fight. We wish both of them a speedy recovery.

The Good:

Good on the game room for arming their employees. As mentioned, these mini casinos have become hot targets for robberies. Keeping security or armed employees acts as both a deterrent, and a line of defense for customers.

Despite being outnumbered, the two employees acted bravely. Trying to protect the customers, the establishment, and their own lives — the two employees engaged the robbers in a dangerous gun battle. Although they did not come out on the winning side, their actions were commendable.

We hope that other gaming rooms around the country take notice of these crimes. The rising violence in these places is getting pretty serious. Perhaps the next logical step is professional armed security.