A family of taekwondo black belts on Tuesday heard screams next door to their Houston-area studio, hurried over, and ended up rescuing a female from an attempted sexual assault.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez hailed the heroic act on X, calling the family of five a “group of good samaritans” who “rushed to safe [sic] the day.”
Hannah An told KHOU that when they opened the doors, she ‘saw a man on top of a woman, and the woman was on the ground.’
Gonzalez added that “deputies were dispatched to a disturbance in the 6800 block of Fry Road. Upon arrival, instructors from the Yong-In Tae Kwon Do dojo had a male pinned to the ground. During the course of their investigation, deputies learned the instructors were notified of yelling next door. The instructors went next door where they observed a male attempting to sexually assault a female. They were able to pull the female away from her attacker. The male then turned to attack the good samaritans. By utilizing their training and discipline, they managed to stop the assault and hold him. Deputies obtained charges for attempted sexual assault and unlawful detention on behalf of the survivor and assault on behalf of the instructors.”
The family consists of Grandmaster Han An — the dad — as well as Hong An — the mom — and siblings Hannah An, 22, Simon An, 20, and Christian An, 18, KHOU-TV reported. They all hold at least 4th-degree black belts in taekwondo, with their dad boasting an 8th-degree black belt.
Simon An told the station his family members were coming back from lunch around 4 p.m. when they heard screaming coming from the Cricket Wireless store, which is located near to their training center in the Cypress area.
Hannah An told KHOU that when they opened the doors, she “saw a man on top of a woman, and the woman was on the ground.” Simon An told NBC News the attacker’s hands were “in [in]appropriate places” as the female tried to fend him off.
Grandmaster An immediately took down the male suspect, KHOU said, adding that Simon An and Christian An stepped up as well.
‘My dad is strong. He expected us to protect him,’ Simon An added to NBC News. ‘He had a lot of trust in us.’
Of their dad’s skills, Simon An told KHOU that his father “just kept him in the corner, he just kept pushing down.” Hannah An called it “automatic self-defense, automatic taekwondo style,” KHOU reported.
Simon An told NBC News that “the intruder was trying to run away — scratching, biting, anything he could do,” but Grandmater An held down the attacker for 10 minutes until law enforcement arrived.
“My dad is strong. He expected us to protect him,” Simon An added to NBC News. “He had a lot of trust in us.”
Hannah An shared with the station that she and her mother, Hong An, took the female to their training center: “Making sure that she’s OK because she needed that after that experience, after that situation that happened out of nowhere.”
Gonzalez told KHOU that 19-year-old Alex Robinson was arrested and charged with attempted sexual assault, unlawful detention, and assault on the instructors.
Robinson appeared in probable cause court overnight on the sexual assault charge, the station said, adding that a defense attorney asked for a low bond, claiming Robinson is indigent and has mental health concerns. The judge set his bond at $100,000, KHOU said.
The following day, the station said students surrounded Grandmaster An, who didn’t seem rattled by the experience: “I’m very proud of my family.”
Hannah An told KHOU she isn’t dwelling on the “heroes” accolade, either: “I thank everybody who’s calling us that, but still, I think anybody can do it.”
Simon An added to the station he’s grateful his family’s martial arts skills could help: “You wouldn’t really expect it in an everyday situation, but when the time comes, it’s very valuable.”
You can view KHOU’s interview with members of the An family here.
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Crime thwarted, Taekwondo, Texas, Dojo, Family, Helping others, Rescue, Martial arts, Fighting back, Martial arts instructors, Crime
