According to the police, a family of taekwondo teachers in Texas assisted in stopping a man who was allegedly attempting to abuse a woman and subdued him until the cops arrived.
When they heard a woman scream on Tuesday, June 18, the An family from Cypress, Texas, who own and run the Yong-In Taekwondo Academy in the adjacent Houston suburb of Katy, were going about their day in the dojo. They were in the middle of their routine when they heard the terrifying sound.
Simon An, who is twenty years old, as well as his father, Han An, who is sixty-nine years old, promptly took action, according to The Washington Post and the local CBS affiliate station KHOU. According to Simon, who spoke to the Post, the two individuals raced next door to a cell phone store, where they discovered a man sitting on top of a woman, holding his hand over her mouth, and caressing her.
It was stated by Simon that Han, who is a grandmaster, a veteran of the South Korean military, and a black belt of the eighth degree, made an attempt to pin down the individual in order to prevent him from fleeing.
“He simply kept him confined to the corner, and he continued to press down on him.” “It was automatic self-defense, in the style of automatic taekwondo,” Simon said to KHOU, describing how his father stopped the alleged attacker from fleeing.
At the same time, Simon said that the man bit his father while they were fighting. In an interview with the Post, the college student said that he rushed to Han’s rescue and that he struck and kicked the person who was allegedly responsible for the assault.
“Adrenaline just shot up, through the roof,” the speaker said. No restrictions,” Simon stated to the newspaper. “I was kind of shaking.”
While his mother Hong, who is 55 years old, and his sister Hannah, who is 22 years old, led the claimed victim to safety within their dojo, his brother Christian, who is 18 years old, shut the entrance to the premises.
“[We were] making sure that she’s OK, because she needed that after that experience — after that situation that happened out of nowhere,” Hannah told the television station KHOU.
When law enforcement arrived at the location, the suspect was still being held by his family, as stated by the Sheriff of Harris County, Ed Gonzalez.
Gonzalez stated in a post that was published on X on Wednesday, June 19, that “they managed to stop the assault and hold him by utilizing their training and discipline.” “Deputies obtained charges for attempted sexual assault and unlawful detention on behalf of the survivor and assault on behalf of the instructors.”
Additionally, the sheriff lauded the family as a “group of good samaritans” who hurried to “save the day.”
“Thank you to the Yong-In dojo for your quick action in protecting others,” Gonzalez said at the conclusion.
Alex Robinson, who was 19 years old at the time, was eventually identified by Gonzalez as the accused attacker. Robinson was charged with sexual assault and appeared in court that evening, according to KHOU. His counsel requested a low bond, citing concerns about Robinson’s mental health as the reason for the request. The bond that the judge set for him was $100,000.
Both outlets were informed by the Ans that despite the fact that they have spent years honing their combat skills through training, they are hopeful that anyone, regardless of whether or not they have a black belt, will step in to intervene.
“If a regular person were to see something like that, I would hope that they would go and help,” Simon said in an interview with the United States Post. “Just help the person in need.”
According to Han, who was quoted in the Post, his children have been training in taekwondo ever since they were four or five years old. This coming weekend, they are scheduled to take their tests for the fifth-degree black belt.
“My life is taekwondo. … I’m very proud of my family,” he told the Korean television station.
Hannah also chipped in, telling the local station that she is grateful to individuals who referred to the family as heroes, but that she is also hoping that anyone who witnesses an incident of that type will intervene.
“I thank everybody who’s calling us that, but still, I think anybody can do it,” she stated in response.
Source: PEOPLE
