Kevin Holland helps stop shooter inside Houston restaurant before police arrive
UFC fighter Kevin Holland, doing business as a citizen crimefighter again, helped hold down a man with a gun at a Houston restaurant on Monday night in a fast-thinking move that police said likely saved lives.
Houston police said the incident happened around 11:30 p.m. when a panic alarm went off at Ra Sushi in Highland Village, per ABC 13. There were also calls for a shooting in progress. Police said those at the establishment had ducked for cover when the man pulled out a gun in the bar area and fired one shot into the air.
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When police arrived at the restaurant full of 40-50 people, the suspect was already being held by Ra Sushi customers. ABC 13 identified Patrick Robinson as one of the men and said he and a friend ran toward the man who had fired the shot. MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani reported that the friend was Holland, who later shared that report on his Instagram story. A third person grabbed the suspect.
"We got him down, apprehended him, got the gun away from him and the bag that he had," Robinson told ABC 13.
"You see it on the news, or you see it on TV or the movies and stuff, but you never see it actually in life, and it is crazy that nobody got hurt," Robinson said.
The friends were described as visitors from Dallas who are trained in MMA. Helwani reported that Holland, 29, declined to be interviewed by local media, but did give a statement to police.
Holland's Instagram story shows him and Robinson outside a building with police lights flashing off the siding. He showed the police cars and called it a shootout. The text on the video reads, "I'm drunk and fighting kung fu fighting" and he said "they" wanted him to do interviews, but he wouldn't.
(Video contains explicit language.)
This was Kevin Holland's reaction shortly after he and a friend took down a gunman Monday night at a restaurant in Houston.
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(🎥 @Trailblaze2top / @ko_reps) pic.twitter.com/YxN2WdtPXI— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) March 15, 2022
On the next video he wrote, "He's OK, I'm OK, we're OK." Early Tuesday he shared a text-only post writing how he was blessed.
"I laugh a lot even when things aren't funny. I smile when I should frown," he wrote. "Super blessed and thankful to see today kiss ya kids hug ya family and treat random people with care. You never know what a mfer [sic] may be going through."
On the re-share of Helwani's post he noted that no one was injured, not even the shooter. He also posted on Twitter, "About last night tho... I'm ok" with a thumbs up.
The man who had the gun is 24 and faces charges of a possessing a stolen gun and discharge of a firearm. He was wanted for failing to appear in court on a criminal mischief charge, police said.
Holland chased down an alleged car thief in October and physically held the man down until police arrived. He called his coach mid-chase and Shug Dorsey came to help. The photos spread widely on social media.
