Homeowner shot in Mallard’s Landing
Shortly after 7pm Sunday evening January 22nd, a homeowner was shot and killed at his residence on Windy Shores Drive in the Mallard’s Landing section of Shadow Creek Ranch. Pearland Police are investigating, but there are no concrete details at this time. The victim was the only person home at the time. PPD has indicated that the circumstances lead them to believe this was NOT a random event, but instead a targeted action. The victim has been identified as Don Weido, who was well-known and liked in the community, and active as a Cub Scout leader and Little League coach. We ask that everyone keep his family and friends in their thoughts and prayers at this time.
Although this incident appears to be a targeted action and not random, we encourage all residents to follow some simple safety measures:
- Turn on your exterior lights after dark. Many of us have installed simple timers available from Home Depot or Amazon that turn our porch, garage, and patio lights on at sunset and off at sunrise. Criminals don’t like well-lit homes and would prefer to go to another home where they can work in the dark.
- If you have an alarm system, USE IT! Set your alarm at all times. The only time mine is off is when I’m resetting it to leave the house or turning it off briefly when coming home. Otherwise it’s always on.
- Consider the use of a video doorbell system (such as the Ring.com doorbell) and/or security cameras (the Arlo system is popular and easy to install). Both allow you to view your surroundings from anywhere, and also allow you to see (and in some cases interact with) who’s at the door while staying safely away from the doorway. (One SCR resident is working on a group discounted purchase for the Ring products).
- Be aware of your surroundings; don’t open your door to unknown persons without seeing ID and confirming their reason for being at your house.
- Defend your home – we can’t tell you how to do that. Some of you are comfortable owning firearms and using them for personal defense. Others may prefer to have guard dogs, which others will have both. But please consider how you would defend yourself if someone broke into your home.
- Harden your home. There are too many facets to list here, but we’ll add a post detailing various things to do in this regard later today or tomorrow.
- Meet your neighbors – get to know them. Host a block party to learn who your neighbors are, what they do, what their family is like, etc. Be a little “nosy” so that you can keep an eye out for your friends and neighbors.
- Consider taking self defense classes. The Shadow Creek Ranch Self Defense classes begin again Tuesday January 24th at 7pm at the Emerald Bay Clubhouse. Master Ben Mitchell is an excellent instructor and SCR resident who wants to educate residents on simple basic motions to defend themselves in real-life situations. The mutli-class course costs $20.
- Join our Neighborhood Watch group and learn more about safety and security. Participate in patrols to watch our for your home and your neighbors.
- Above all, if you see something unusual, call the Pearland PD non-emergency number at 281-997-4100. If you witness a crime in progress, call 911.
I’ll update the post as more information is made public.
Here are the links to current news stories:
http://abc13.com/news/frantic-neighbors-call-for-help-as-shots-fired-at-pearland-home/1715955/
http://www.click2houston.com/news/man-shot-to-death-in-pearland-police-said