Different Story Emerges

Good Samaritans rescue two children accidentally locked in sweltering car

UPDATE: A day after a video went viral of passersby breaking into a car to rescue two children locked inside, a different story has emerged. The owner of a video store in the shopping center has survelliance tape that shows that the children were with the mother during most of the outing, according to a KHOU update. She put them in the car when the doors locked, along with the keys, and sought help to break into the car. The witness who shot the first video described in the story below did not respond to a request from KHOU for a follow-up interview.

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A group of fast-thinking passersby rescued two small children left sweltering in a locked car while their mother got a haircut at a strip shopping center in Katy. The children’s cries drew the attention of several men who sprang into action, using a hammer to break the vehicle’s windows and release them.

The mother parked her Jeep in front of a hair salon near North Fry Road and Little York for the haircut and told the rescuers she left her children in the car temporarily. She begged them not to call the police, saying she had made a terrible mistake and they complied.

“The kids were in there crying. I mean you would understand. It’s real hot."

Shop owner Gabriel Del Valle captured the rescue on his phone and told KHOU Channel 11 that it took great effort to break the glass.

“The kids were in there crying. I mean you would understand. It’s real hot,” Del Valle said. “And even then, they could barely open the doors because there was a child lock on.”

Within a few minutes the children were freed unharmed and the incident is a reminder that children and pets shouldn’t be left in a hot car.

“Even a dog can die, so imagine a person,” Del Valle said.

Texas leads the nation in the number of heat-related deaths of children left in vehicles, and KidsandCars.org reports that nationally 38 children die every year from heat stroke and heat-related deaths of children left in vehicles.

See the most recent KHOU report here:

After successfully breaking the glass, rescuers had to battle child safety locks.

Photo Courtesy KHOU Channel 11

After successfully breaking the glass, rescuers had to battle child safety locks.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”